Number Thirteen II
by The Darkshine
Summary: Zak's rivalry with Kite is over, the World Duel Carnival has ended and the finals are beginning shortly; but a new threat lies in store for Zak and Angel. As for the Mysterious Figure... Just who is he? The story continues.
1. The Fall

There he stood: atop Heartland Tower overlooking the city at sunset. Zak watched him intently and Angel soon picked up on this. Angel and Zak still sat on the hospital bed on the hospital roof. Angel turned her head to look at the mysterious figure now, as Zak had done only a few minutes before.

'It's him…' Angel said quietly.

Zak was shocked; did Angel know the mysterious figure?

'Do you know him?' Zak asked quickly.

'No, but I duelled him,' Angel replied, turning to face Zak, 'He was unbelievably strong. He used a deck called 'Malefic' I think.'

'That's right; he does,' Zak confirmed, 'And Photon. He uses a combination of both.'

'Photon?' Angel's eyes widened, 'But that means… Is he in league with Kite?'

'I don't know. But I hope not. I duelled him before I faced Kite today. He defeated me without even trying.'

'He defeated you? I wonder who he is.'

'I'm more worried about what he's up to.'

Both Zak and Angel turned once again to face the mysterious figure. He was still standing at the top of Heartland Tower. He turned his head the slightest degree; just enough for Zak and Angel to see his glowing silver eye. The mysterious figure moved his head back to face Heartland. He was still wearing the same gear as when Zak had faced him. His entire left arm was covered in a combination of silver scale and plate armour. His duel disk possessed a lesser amount of said armour and was the same kind as Zak's. His hands wore gauntlets that were curved into sharp claws.

As for the rest of him; he wore a cloak which covered the lower half of his face and trailed over his shoulder. When the wind caught it, it looked like a cape. He also wore a deep hood which cast a perfect shadow over his face. A lightly armoured zipped up coat and pants also found themselves worn on his person. His boots also matched the rest of his outfit; black sneakers with a few scales. However, the most noticeable feature of the mysterious figure was his eyes. They were sharp and glowed silver from under his hood. No other features of his face could be made out. Along with this, no skin was visible at all. He seemed to be a living incarnation of fear; a grim reaper of duelling. And his deck perfectly complimented that.

There were only two last things about his person that Zak and Angel had failed to notice. The first was a pendant he wore, but it was concealed beneath his coat. It consisted of a small glowing red gem held in a silver frame. The second thing that was previously unknown to anyone who saw him was a special gadget he wore on his back. It was usually covered by the cloak, but now the mysterious figure needed to use it. Zak and Angel watched him, trying to discern what his motives and identity might be. But their attempt was in vain. The mysterious figure was as silent and deadly as Death himself. Then he took a step forward. And then another and another. He now stood on the edge of Heartland Tower. He was up to something, but only he knew what that was.

Then he jumped.

The mysterious figure simply dived off the tower. There had been no warning; just an instantaneous jump. Zak and Angel were shocked. Wither the mysterious figure was downright fearless or downright stubborn. Whatever the case was, the mysterious figure was now falling full speed toward the sidewalk of Heartland. The mysterious figure then proceeded to activate the special gadget on his back. The gadget itself looked like a small thick plate of black metal strapped to the mysterious figure's back. But upon activation, its sides glowed with a faint blue light.

Two short wings appeared on either side of the mysterious figure. The device created wings, seemingly made from the same substance as the Photon monsters he used. They weren't huge or highly detailed wings in any case. They resembled the malefic wings to a slight degree however. They were barely longer than the mysterious figure's arm span, but they slowed down his flight and allowed him to land safely on the sidewalk below. Zak and Angel could no longer see him now; he'd disappeared behind a building.

As soon as the mysterious figure touched the ground, the wings deactivated and he sped off in the direction of the sunset. His speed and stamina was unmatched as he rushed through the streets, jumping or dodging anything in his path in the blink of an eye. In less than a minute from when he landed, the mysterious figure had covered at least kilometre and he was still rushing along. To those who even managed to see him; he seemed almost superhuman. But he was quick, and to those who didn't see him; thought that he was only a gust of wind.

Back on the hospital roof, Zak and Angel had given up trying to spot the mysterious figure in the streets of Heartland. Zak laid back on the hospital bed and began to stare at the ever darkening sky, his body still badly aching from his duel with Kite only a few hours before. Angel soon joined him and they looked up in silence, at least until the ding of the elevator doors opening broke that silence. Someone was here now. The duo sat up to look at the newcomer striding toward them. Zak recognised who it was and soon, so did Angel. It was Gauche: a previous administrator, and now contestant, in the World Duel Carnival.

Zak faced him and Gauche returned the look. They had never met previously, but they seemed to recognize and respect each other the way only duelists could. Without a word, Gauche reached into his coat, retrieved a sealed envelope and handed it to Zak.

'You'll attend right?' He asked with a hint of a grin, 'She can come too.'

Zak knew Gauche was referring to Angel. He calmly opened the envelope and skim read the invitation within. He had been invited to a special party for the finalists of the World Duel Carnival. Zak had completely forgotten that he was a finalist. After a few moments of thought, Zak looked and Gauche and nodded. Gauche subsequently smiled and looked at Zak.

'Great!' He said in a full grin, 'I'll see you there!'

With that, Gauche turned around and headed toward the elevator. Zak waited for the elevator doors to close before turning to Angel.

'Feel like dressing up?' Zak asked calmly as he handed her the invitation.

Angel took the invitation and fully read it over. She began to smile wildly when she realised what it meant.

'You're a finalist?' Angel exclaimed.

Zak responded by pulled out his finished Heart Pieces. Angel took them from Zak and studied them carefully. She reached into her pocket to get her Heart Pieces. When she couldn't find them, she looked at Zak. Zak simply shrugged and Angel knew what he'd done.

'Should've guessed,' Angel said, trying to sound serious.

She couldn't keep a straight face though and she told Zak that she understood. She said she would've done the same thing in his place. Zak smiled and nodded at her. He had used Angel's Heart Pieces, but now that he was in the finals and had her support, it didn't matter. Zak took the invitation back from Angel and read it over carefully now. The party was tomorrow night. Zak was sure that Kite would be there, even despite his loss to Zak. Zak also knew that Shark and Gauche would be there too since they were also finalists. Other than those three, Zak wasn't sure about anyone else attending.

'We need to get something to wear!' Angel suddenly said.

Zak looked at her and agreed. He hadn't thought about getting the proper attire, but realised that it was definitely important.

'I know,' Angel continued, 'We'll head to my place tomorrow. I already have a dress that I can wear. What about you sweetie? Where's your formal suit?'

'Didn't plan on it,' Zak said shortly.

Angel rolled her eyes. She thought for a moment then clicked her fingers.

'Alright then, after we go to my place,' She explained, 'We'll go to that shop in the mall that sells suits and whatnot and I'll rent you a suit there.'

'You really want to spend all that money on me?' Zak inquired; he was surprised.

'Well, you did save my soul; so I do owe you one,' Angel replied, 'But there's one condition: I get to choose the suit.'

Zak nodded and smiled; he was just glad to see her safe after what had happened the night before. He looked back out at Heartland and wondered what the mysterious figure was up to. Zak felt Angel rest her head on his shoulder. In response, he put his arm around her and rested his head on hers. It was amazing how close two people could come in only a short time, he thought.

'But I suppose it depends on the circumstances,' Zak added mentally.


	2. The Rush

There was no stopping the mysterious figure as he tore through the streets. The sun had set completely and it was growing dark fast now. But the mysterious figure kept running, with no limit on his energy levels or endurance. Then he stopped abruptly. He'd reached the edge of Heartland now and was facing the giant wall that circled the city. The wall was a smooth combination of stone and metal and curved inward; meaning it could not be climbed. But it seemed that nothing could stand in the way of the mysterious figure. He activated the photon-malefic wings on his back and, in three strong bursts, ascended to the top of the wall. He landed gracefully on the top for a split second before diving off like he'd done on Heartland Tower. The wings spread out and allowed him to glide across the suburbs outside Heartland Wall.

When he'd glided roughly over half of the suburbs, he positioned himself to descend in a quick but quiet manner. He landed on a street corner in the fading light and deactivated the wings as soon as his feet touched the ground. His glowing silver eyes took the time to look around and survey the change of scenery.

'Hey!' Came a loud voice from behind the mysterious figure.

In an instant, the mysterious figure faced the voice and the heavily built man who owned it. The mysterious figure knew that the man was referring to him, but still he remained silent and waited for another burst of the loud voice.

'You're a duelist right?' The man asked suspiciously.

The mysterious figure said nothing, as usual, and simply nodded in response.

'Then duel me!' The man demanded.

The mysterious figure had been in such a rush up till now. But it seemed that no matter how much of a rush that the mysterious figure was in; he would not turn down a chance to duel. And so he activated his duel disk in response.

'Ha!' The man shouted, 'I have four Heart Pieces! And there's still time to gain my last one!'

It was obvious that the man was duelling the mysterious figure in order to get into the finals. What he didn't know was that the mysterious figure wasn't participating in the World Duel Carnival and did not possess any heart Pieces. But it was too late now, and the man was wildly grinning in triumph. He had greatly underestimated the mysterious figure. As the duel began, the dark energy that flowed from the mysterious figure began to flow again. Day turned to night in the augmented reality and a sense of fear gripped the entire area.

[Barry: 4000] [?: 4000]

The mysterious figure was quick in taking the first move. He was still in a rush, or so it seemed. He set three cards facedown and activated the Field Spell card called Luminous Spark. Now all LIGHT Attribute monsters would gain 500 Attack points and lose 400 Defence Points. He then banished Cyber End Dragon from his Extra Deck to Special Summon Malefic Cyber End Dragon.

[Malefic Cyber End Dragon – 4000 ATK – 2800 DEF – DARK Attribute –Dragon-Type – Level 10]

He then ended his turn without a word. The man, now known as Barry, was in shock. He had expected to be facing an average, albeit differently dressed, duelist like he'd been doing the past three days. He hadn't been expecting such as card as a Malefic monster. But he was a duelist; and he wasn't about to give up because of a slight disadvantage.

'My turn! I draw!' Barry shouted, 'From my hand, I summon out Alien Mars! And because I Normal Summoned an 'Alien' monster: I can Special Summon Alien Dog from my hand!'

Alien Dog's effect was to be able to place A-Counters on opponent's monster when it was summoned while Alien Mars would negate all monsters' effects that have A-Counters. If Barry placed the A-Counters on Malefic Cyber End Dragon, then its effects would be useless. But Barry knew better than that; a Malefic monster would destroy itself if there was no Field Spell present. Barry grinned as he figured out his plan. He was going to destroy the Field Spell and the Malefic Monster and then attack directly.

'I choose not to activate Alien Dog's effect!' Barry continued, 'Now I activate the spell card De-Spell! And with it: I destroy your Field Card! Your Malefic monster is gone!'

The mysterious figure did not seem to notice Barry attempt on the Field Spell. However, the mysterious figure did promptly activate one of his trap cards: Dark Bribe. De-Spell was negated and Barry got to draw one card. Despite not being able to destroy Malefic Cyber End Dragon, Barry grinned at the card he drew. He wouldn't need to destroy the monster now.

'I now overlay my two Level 3 monsters to build the Overlay Network!' Barry roared, 'I Xyz Summon Grenosaurus!'

[Grenosaurus – 2000 ATK – 1900 DEF – FIRE Attribute – Dinosaur-Type – Rank 3]

'Now I equip my Grenosaurus with two equip cards!' Barry shouted, 'The first is Shooting Star Bow – Ceal! And the second is Axe of Despair! Shooting Star Bow – Ceal decreases my monster's attack by 1000 points but allows it to attack directly and Axe of Despair raises my monster's attack by 1000! So there's no chance in attack and my Grenosaurus can attack directly!' Take this! Go Grenosarus: attack directly!'

The mysterious figure wasted no time in activating his second facedown card: Mirror Force. Just as Grenosaurus was about to reach the mysterious figure, a bright barrier of white light surrounded it and destroyed it. Barry was simply awestruck. Both attempts of his to defeat this mysterious figure had been promptly negated. Barry had two cards left in his hand and decided to set both; it was time to be slightly more defensive. Barry ended his turn in a growl. The mysterious figure instantly drew his card; but Barry was ready.

'I activate my trap: Gravity Bind; now Level 4 or higher monsters cannot attack!' He said triumphantly.

Barry settled down and waited for the mysterious figure to make his move. Barry's other trap card was Draining Shield, so even if the mysterious figure did manage to attack; Barry would only gain Life Points and this would give him time for a counterattack. This guy couldn't be too tough, Barry thought.

The mysterious looked at his drawn card and then activated his final trap card: Eradicator Epidemic Virus. By sacrificing a DARK Attribute monster with 2500 or more Attack points, the mysterious figure could select either trap cards or spell cards. Then, for the next three turns, all cards of the type the mysterious figure had chosen would be destroyed from Barry's hand or field. The mysterious figure chose trap cards without a word and sacrificed his Malefic Cyber End Dragon. Barry was shattered to see both his Gravity Bind and Draining Shield be destroyed so easily. He now had no cards on the field or in his hand. But the mysterious figure had no monster or facedown cards either. He only had the field spell and the card in his hand.

Little did Barry know: that was all that the mysterious figure had needed. All Barry's hopes of winning were destroyed when the mysterious figure Special Summoned his next monster. It was Malefic Truth Dragon, and since a Malefic monster had been destroyed: by halving his Life Points, the mysterious figure could Special Summon Malefic Truth Dragon straight from his hand, or Graveyard, to the field.

[?: 2000]

[Malefic Truth Dragon – 5000 ATK – 5000 DEF – DARK Attribute – Dragon-Type – Level 12]

Without a word, the mysterious figure commanded for Malefic Truth Dragon to attack Barry directly. It was a One Turn Kill. Barry's Life Points dropped to zero as the huge dragon launched its attack.

[Barry: 0] [Winner: ?]

Barry closed his eyes as he was sent flying by the powerful blast. He lay flat on his back for a few moments before sitting up in daze. He looked around for his opponent, but the mysterious figure had already vanished without a trace. Barry stood up and dawdled on his way. He had no idea how he'd been defeated so fast or so easily like that. He'd completely forgotten that he still had all of his Heart Pieces.

The mysterious figure had left as soon as the attack had landed. He had dashed off once more toward his destination. The mysterious figure always seemed so enigmatic and confident in whatever he did. People would generally keep out of his way, assuming they even saw him. When he wasn't running through the streets, he kept perfectly in the shadows. But now he had reached his destination: the back wall of a dead end alley. The alley was close to the outskirts of the suburbs. The alley itself was empty; there were no bins or crates like there generally were in alleys such as this. This specific alley was spotless, just as the mysterious figure kept it.

But now he reached for his pendant; the glowing red gem. The gem was about the size of his thumb and was uncut. It was only secured in a rough silver wire frame which was fastened to the pendant chain. The mysterious figure held the gem up to the wall and waited for a few moments. A small ripple covered the vertical surface of the wall as the gem resonated against it. The wall had now become only a hologram; or more correctly: a portal. In his usual silence, the mysterious figure stepped through the rippling wall with the portal closing behind him.

He was gone from Heartland; and from this world.


	3. The Dress

Zak awoke with the rising sun. He'd fallen asleep not long after Gauche had left and Angel had followed suit. He yawned and sat up. His mind was hazy from the night before. After a moment of coming to his senses, Zak stood up and looked around while giving his aching muscles a bit of a stretch. It was a fine day, he thought. His hoodie and Duel Disk lay on the bed next to where he'd been sleeping. He reached for them and put them on just as Angel awoke.

'Morning,' Zak said with a rare smile.

'Hey sweetie,' Angel replied, still half asleep.

Zak looked around for anything he'd missed as Angel rose to her feet. She flexed for a few moments and yawned loudly. After Zak was satisfied that there was nothing he'd forgotten, he turned to Angel. She was busy checking that she had everything she needed. After she was positive she had everything, she looked back at him and smiled.

'Ready when you are,' Angel said.

'Then let's go,' Zak said in response.

Today was going to be a day for relaxing from the pressure of the World Duel Carnival and Number Hunting. Both Zak and Angel just wanted to spend the day getting to know each other and getting ready for the Finalists' party. The first stop for the duo was Angel's place for her dress. Then a suit retailer for Zak and finally: the rest of the day was theirs. Zak was looking forward to it. He was looking for to getting to know Angel; his friend and partner-in-crime. He was looking forward to the party where he would meet the other finalists. He was looking forward to the entire day. It was his day; it was Angel's day and it was going to be an amazing day.

The duo descended to the ground level of the hospital via the elevator in no time at all. Zak had decided not to wear his mask for now and had pushed is hood back. His mask rested safely inside his hoodie, on Angel's orders. Upon exiting the hospital, Zak caught the eye of the receptionist and silently said 'thank you.' The receptionist smiled at him and nodded; she had been happy to help Angel while the latter had been in hospital. It seemed like a sunny day with only a few clouds in the sky. There were no longer hundreds of people rushing around the streets due to the World Duel Carnival. It seemed that everyone was taking it slower today.

Both Zak and Angel had decided to remove the Number cards from their extra decks for the time being. For now, they would remain in their pockets until they were needed. There was no point in causing more worry or potentially losing themselves to the darkness that surrounded the dreaded cards. They had thirteen Numbers between them; eight to Zak and five to Angel. Not to mention that Zak also had his new Chaos Number from his duel with Kite.

'So tell me how you got it,' Angel voice broke Zak's train of thought; not an uncommon occurrence.

'Got what?' Zak replied after a moment.

'Your Chaos Number: Darkshine Dragon Ascension.'

'My last duel with Kite I suppose…' Zak realised that Angel must have looked through his collected Numbers while he was asleep.

'How?'

'In all honesty, I really don't know. I just didn't want to give up and I saw a light… Then I summoned it and won.'

'You beat Kite using a new card that just appeared out of nowhere at the last minute?'

'Would you believe it?'

'I suppose so,' Angel said finally, 'So how do I get a Chaos Number?'

Zak just shrugged, 'Go find a really powerful duelist where losing is not an option. And then almost lose.'

Angel looked at Zak sarcastically. Zak raised an eyebrow in response.

'Smartass,' He heard Angel say quietly.

They were walking through the streets of Heartland now, in no particular hurry. Zak saw their destination in the distance: one of the smaller high-rises. He assumed that Angel probably had an apartment there. It was only a block away so there was no big rush to get there. Zak and Angel walked in a companionable silence toward the short high-rise. After passing through the doors, Zak saw that the whole place was quite modern and new, or at least the lobby was. Angel took no notice of the surroundings and continued straight toward the elevator. Zak took one last look around and then followed suit. They were headed to floor eighty of the ninety-three floors that existed.

The hallway they reached was clean, or clean to an extent. The hallway had a few lights on the walls and three doors on either wall. The end of the hallway opposite to the elevator was a dead-end. Angel led Zak to the second door on the right; the one labelled '478.'

'Here we are sweetie,' Angel said with her flirtatious smile, 'Home sweet home.'

Angel then took out the key that usually dangled around her neck and inserted it into the keyhole. She unlocked the door and opened it wide before she and Zak passed through. She then returned the key to the chain around her neck and shut the door behind them. Angel's apartment was just as clean as the rest of the high-rise. It was almost as if she was never here. From the door, the space was a lounge room which had a balcony on the far side. There was a small opening on the left of the lounge room which opened up into a kitchen. To the right of the lounge room was a closed door, which Zak presumed was Angel's room. The lounge itself had a medium sized TV hanging up on the wall that led to the balcony and also had a couch to go with it.

Angel took a deep breath; she was happy to be home after the World Duel Carnival, and the loss of her soul. She briskly walked to the closed door and opened it, before walking into her room. Zak felt awkward just standing in the lounge alone, so he went in after Angel. There was a large double bed in the middle against the far wall. To the left was a set of closed curtains which probably opened up onto the balcony too. The right side possessed a bathroom and a closet in the corner. Angel was busy looking through the closet, no doubt for her dress. Zak opened up the curtains to let the sun in. He then noticed a small desk beside the bed. On it were a few scraps of paper, a few stacks of Duel monsters cards and a few opened booster packs.

'Those are the leftovers from making my deck,' Angel said, still looking through the closet.

Zak picked up one of the pieces of paper and tried to make sense of it. Angel had written down combinations and ideas for making her deck. Zak had done a more or less similar thing when constructing his deck, just finding out good techniques and strengths of his cards as well as covering up the weaknesses. Zak then picked up one of the stacks of cards and looked through them. It wasn't just a stack: it was a complete deck; obviously a spare one Angel had created. Zak guesses that the other stacks of Duel Monsters cards were also complete decks too. All must have been made by Angel to test her own deck. Zak liked that idea and wished he'd thought of it too. Then again, he didn't have very many cards, just the ones in his deck.

'Well Zakky, what do ya think?' Angel asked him.

Zak twirled around to face her. She was holding out a long black and white ball gown in her arms. Zak didn't know much about nor really care for dresses and whatnot, but this one that Angel had was different. It was a thing of art. He walked over to Angel and had a closer look at it. Its design almost resembled the Malefic monsters that he'd faced not too long ago. Angel could see the interest in his eyes and grinned.

'I like it,' Zak said with a smile.

'I thought you would, sweetie,' Angel replied, winking at him.

She laid the dress delicately on the bed and the headed out of the bedroom. Zak, once again, followed suit. Angel then rummaged through her pockets before reaching the front door. She pulled out her wallet and looked through it. She then smiled and returned it to her pocket. Zak then followed her through the front door and closed it behind them. Now it was time to get Zak's suit. After the suit, they'd wander around for a while before returning here and changing for the party.

While in the elevator, Angel reached into her pocket and handed something to Zak. It was key, identical to the one around Angel's neck. She was giving him the spare key to her apartment. He looked at her in question, but she simply smiled.

'Do you always give strangers the key to you room?' Zak asked.

'Only the special ones,' Angel replied, her flirtatious grin forming on her face.

They reached the ground floor gazing into each other's eyes; both trying to determine what was there. Zak looked away first and out through the open elevator doors. His smile then died when he saw the sight that waited for him. His hand slid into his pocket and he retrieved his Numbers. He then placed them in his extra deck, all the while keeping his gaze steady. Angel had seen what he saw and had silently put her Numbers in her deck too. They were going to need them now. Zak and Angel then walked outside together to face the sight and threat they saw.

It was the mysterious figure; he had been waiting for them.


	4. The Rematch

It seemed like an eternity before any of the trio broke the silence. They all stood there, facing each other off. Zak and Angel had no idea what to expect, except for the mysterious figure's powerful Malefic and Photon deck. But they still didn't know whose side he took, or whether or not he even was a threat. For all they knew, he could just be a fanatic duelist trying to give them a scare. But he didn't seem like that at all. He was real and he was powerful. It was Zak who finally broke the silence and tension.

'Who are you?' Zak asked calmly.

The mysterious figure did not respond. Zak had never heard him utter a sound. Angel seemed unsettled, she wasn't happy to be around this person and Zak felt the same way. This mystery man gave Zak the shivers, something which no one else could do. The mysterious figure took a step back and activated his Duel Disk. Neither Zak nor Angel were quick to respond as neither wanted to duel the mysterious figure; but neither wanted to back down either. Zak looked at Angel and mouthed something. She only just managed to understand what he said, 'together.'

She nodded at him and, together, they activated their Duel Disks. Zak had hoped that by both him and Angel accepting the duel, the mysterious figure might think twice. But he didn't and he glared at the duo. A deep voice echoed across their minds.

'Battle Royal,' It sounded.

Zak stood there in shock before quickly turning to Angel. She gave him an equally shocked expression: she'd heard the voice too. Zak then looked to the mysterious figure in question. The latter's gaze always gave away no clues, but Zak was sure that the voice he and Angel had just heard belonged to the mysterious figure. After taking in a deep breath and regaining his confidence, Zak activated his D-Gazer and heard Angel do the same. They were a team now, and they would fight as one. Once again, the dark presence of the mysterious figure filled the augmented reality. The sky darkened and a light black mist seemed to form. But now was not the time for fear.

[Angel: 4000] [Zak: 4000] [?: 4000]

As usual, the mysterious figure was quick to the draw. Zak dreaded what horror was to arrive from the powerful deck now. But nothing arrived; the mysterious figure ended his turn without even so much as a facedown. Angel then took the next move. She drew her card with her natural competitive streak while duelling.

'I activate Dark World Dealings!' She called out, 'Now all of us must discard one card and draw another. I discard Angel O7 and draw!'

Zak watched the mysterious figure closely. The latter discarded his card and Zak strained his eyes to see what it was. He only managed to glimpse the name of it: Galaxy Queen's Light. He'd never heard of it before and decided that he'd look it up later. Every card in the mysterious figure's deck was of interest to him. Knowing what he was facing would give him an edge. And against this duellist, an edge was definitely needed. Zak then discarded his card and drew in silence, then waited for Angel to continue.

'Now I activate Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!' Angel said loudly, 'Using the effect of Valhalla, I now Special Summon Athena!'

Zak smiled silently; Angel loved the Athena card.

'I normal summon Hecatrice!' Angel continued, 'And due to Athena's effect: you take 600 points of damage each time a Fairy-Type monster is summoned!'

[?: 3400]

'But I'm not done there,' Angel said in triumph, 'I activate Athena's second effect. I can sacrifice one Fairy-Type monster on my field to Special Summon a Fairy-Type monster from my graveyard! So I destroy Hecatrice and Special Summon the monster I sent earlier: Angel O7! Now you take another 600 points of damage!'

[?: 2800]

'And now,' Angel said, 'I overlay my two Level 7 monsters to build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Number 88: Goddess of Light! I then set two cards facedown and end my turn!'

[Number 88: Goddess of Light – 2200 ATK – 2700 DEF – LIGHT Attibute – Fairy-Type – Rank 7]

Zak was impressed; Angel was off to a good start and had created a great defence for herself. But now it was Zak's turn, and he planned to do the same. He drew silently and looked at his hand, hoping for a combination. It was there: a good combo, and his true Number.

'I summon Trident Warrior!' Zak began, 'And I use his effect to Special Summon my Level 3 Shine Knight in defence mode. Shine Knight's effect then makes him Level 4! I now overlay my two Level 4 monster to Xyz Summon! I call out Gem-Knight Pearl! Now I activate Double Summon and use its effect to Normal Summon Summoner Monk! His effect then changes him to defence mode. Now I activate his second effect: by discarding a spell card from my hand: I can Special Summon a Level 4 monster from my deck! I discard Pot of Avarice to Special Summon Destiny Hero – Defender! I now overlay Destiny Hero – Defender and Summoner Monk to once again Xyz Summon! This time I bring out Number 50: Black Corn!'

Zak looked at his field: he'd used all of his main monsters in his first turn. He was happy at that thought, and then realised that he was still going.

'Using these two Rank 4 monsters, I build a new Overlay network!' Zak continued, 'I extend Xyz Summon! Come on out Number 13: Darkshine Dragon! I then end my turn with a facedown!'

[Number 13: Darkshine Dragon – 3000 ATK – 0 DEF – DARK Attribute – Dragon-Type – Rank 4]

No longer did Number Thirteen attempt to possess Zak anymore; there was a mutual respect between them now. Zak and Angel grinned at each other. They had both brought out their Number monsters on their first turns. Not to mention they had facedown cards too. Zak's facedown was Magic Cylinder, so any big attack the Mysterious figure threw their way was going to take him down instead. Zak expected that Angel's two facedowns were also defensive traps too. There was no way the mysterious figure could overcome both Angel and Zak in this duel.

The mysterious figure drew his card in his usual silence. Firstly, he activated Heavy Storm: a card which took out all of Zak's and Angel's facedowns. Zak frowned but didn't let the move shake him. He and Angel still had their Numbers after all. Angel's two facedowns had been Negate Attack and Call of the Haunted. Then the mysterious figure activated Polymerization from his hand and Fusion Summoned Twin-Photon Lizard by fusing two Photon Crushers in his hand. He then activated the effect of Twin-Photon Lizard and used it to Special Summon both Photon Crushers from his graveyard. Then he Special Summoned Guardian of Order since he had at least two LIGHT Attribute monsters on his field.

[Guardian of Order – 2500 ATK – 1200 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Warrior-Type – Level 8]

Then came the moment that Zak had dreaded: the mysterious figure tributed both Photon Crushers for the Special Summon of Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.

[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon – 3000 ATK – 2500 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Dragon-Type – Level 8]

Even with two incredibly powerful monsters on his field, the mysterious figure didn't stop. He finally proceeded to Normal Summon Gagaga Magician in attack mode and used its effect to change its own Level to 8. Zak could see where this was going and he dreaded it deep in his heart. The mysterious figure then overlayed all three of his Level 8 monsters to build an Overlay Network. Out came a monster that showed true power: Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.

[Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon – 4500 ATK – 3000 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Dragon-Type – Rank 8]

Zak stepped back in horror. He'd only managed to defeat this monster once before with his own Chaos Number. But he didn't know how to bring out his Chaos Number, let alone reduce his own Life Points to 1000 to use its effect. It didn't seem to matter though; the mysterious figure was going to reduce Zak's and Angel's Life Points to zero anyway. The mysterious figure activated the effect of Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and it absorbed all overlay units of both Number 88 and Number 13; a total of 8 units.

Due to Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's effect, it would gain 500 Attack per unit and be able to attack that many times. So now it had 8500 Attack and 8 attacks total. The mysterious figure directed for the huge glowing orange dragon to attack Number 88. It did so and, since Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon had negated the effects of all other monsters, Number 88: Goddess of Light was destroyed. Angel was knocked backwards due to the blast.

[Angel: 0]

'Angel!' Zak called out before glaring at the mysterious figure.

The latter was too quick though, and already Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon was attacking again. This time, Number 13 took the blast and was consequently destroyed in the powerful fires. Zak too was knocked off his feet.

[Zak: 0] [Winner: ?]


	5. The Counter

'Zak? Zak!' Came Angel's worried voice.

It took a while for Zak's eyes to adjust to the bright light of the late morning. His mind was abuzz. Zak was still lying on his back from when he'd taken the finishing blow from the mysterious figure. Zak blinked a few times and sat up to face Angel, who was kneeling beside him. He gave her a look of confusion. She returned his gaze with an answer.

'He's gone. He must have left as soon as he beat us. But he didn't take anything of ours, as far as I know,' She said.

'Thought so…' Zak said slowly, 'He did it last time.'

'But he left this. I don't know what it is.'

Zak looked at what Angel held in her hand. It was a small but bright red gem encased in a rough silver frame attached to a pendant chain. It glowed even in the daylight. Zak had no idea what it was either. He reached out and slowly grasped the gem itself. It was warm to the touch and seemed to vibrate very gently. It was unlike anything Zak had ever seen. Zak stood up and took the gem from Angel.

'May I?' He asked.

'It's fine. It came from that guy, so I don't want it,' Angel replied.

Zak nodded and fastened the pendant chain around his neck before resting the gem itself behind his shirt. He took in a deep breath and had a quick check through his extra deck. With a sigh of relief, he saw that all of his Numbers were still there. Zak and Angel had only been knocked out for a few minutes after the mysterious figure had beaten them. Zak thought back to that duel. The mysterious figure had Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and its evolution: Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon; two cards that only Kite possessed. Then again, the mysterious figure also possessed Malefic cards too, so it didn't come as too much of a surprise. Zak decided to just ignore the whole encounter for the time being and think about it later. It seemed that Angel was doing the same thing, judging by the way she spoke.

'Shall we go to the tailor now?' She asked in a smile.

'We shall,' Zak replied.

The duo then made for the mall. It was a longer walk than from the hospital. Instead of making friendly conversation while walking to the mall, there was an uneasy silence between them. It seemed that both were lost in their own thoughts now. Each was trying to figure about anything they could about their previous duel and anything about the mysterious figure. But neither could think of anything; he was too much of a mystery to them. They soon reached the mall, which was bustling with the people of Heartland. Then a thought popped into Zak's head. He turned to Angel.

'Neither of us was possessed by our Number,' He said.

Angel's eyes widened slightly as she realised what he was saying.

'You're right,' She replied, 'Does that mean we're safe?'

'Maybe… But there's still that cloaked guy. At least Numbered duels won't be as threatening anymore.'

Angel smiled uneasily. She was obviously thinking about that past tag duel against Kite. Zak looked at her with a sad smile. He sighed and looked up, then realised that they had reached the tailor. Zak looked at Angel once more and mouthed 'Don't worry.' She nodded in response and they both walked through the doors.

Angel ended up choosing a black and white tuxedo for Zak, complete with a red bowtie. Zak quite liked his new formal attire and was relieved that Angel hadn't chosen something silly or embarrassing. Angel then ordered the suit to be delivered to her door before the party. The whole ordeal had taken an hour, with Angel making Zak wear numerous different colours and designs, much to his annoyance. But it was over and Zak was happy in the end. His suit perfectly complemented Angel's dress.

'Where to next, sweetie? Angel asked in her usual grin.

Zak thought for a moment. Then he remembered the duel he'd just had against the mysterious figure. There was that card that the latter had used: Galaxy Queen's Light. Zak wanted to know about that and more about the Malefic cards in general.

'The Duel Shop,' Zak finally replied.

The Duel Shop was one of the major stores in the mall, taking up most of the second level. After the minute or two it took to get there, Zak approached one of the cards salesmen. The salesman greeted Zak with a smile and a 'What can I do for you?'

'Hey,' Zak replied slowly, 'Have you heard of a card called Galaxy Queen's Light?'

'Can't say that I have, were you looking for one?'

'No, I was wondering what it does. I saw it in a duel recently…' Zak trailed off.

'Well then, I'll just go check our database for you then!'

The salesman led both Zak and Angel over to the counter before typing in the card name into his computer. While he searched for the card, Angel looked at Zak in question.

'Why this card?' She inquired.

'He had one,' Zak said sternly.

Angel knew what he meant, the mysterious figure had this card and Zak was trying to figure out what its effect was.

'Found it!' Came the chirpy voice of the salesman, 'Galaxy Queen's Light: a spell card. Here's its effect: Target 1 face-up Level 7 or higher monster you control; all face-up monsters you currently control become the same Level as that monster, until the End Phase.'

Zak thought for a moment, trying to figure out why the mysterious figure would need such a card. Angel then answered it for him.

'Xyz Summon?' She said lightly.

'Yes, very good for high rank Xyz Summons with multiple monsters. Do you want me to go find one in stock?' The salesman replied.

'No, its fine,' Zak said shortly, 'Hold on. What can you tell me about the Malefic cards?'

'Malefic?' The salesman said in surprise, 'Well, uhh, let me think… They were owned by a man named Paradox years ago. They were said to some of the most powerful and evil cards in existence. After Paradox was beaten in a duel by Yugi Moto, Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo; no one knows what happened to him or his deck.'

'That's what the history books say,' Zak said.

'You know, recently, quite a few people have come to this store asking about them. Is there something about them?'

'Indeed. They're back.'

'Back? What do you mean?'

'I mean that there is someone running about who owns a Malefic deck combined with a Photon deck,' Zak said shortly, 'And he can use them perfectly!'

'Photon? Never heard of that,' The salesman shrugged, 'But is that really true? If it is, then that is not a good thing. Malefic cards are evil and dangerous. For someone to actually have them is even worse, especially if he's running about and using them. Have you alerted anyone else?'

'No.'

'Well then. I'll let the store know and I'll see if we can't find more information on this guy and his cards. What'd he look like?'

'Hmmm, black cloak, black shirt, black everything. A duel disk that resembles mine and…'

'Glowing silver eyes!' Angel added quickly.

Zak nodded, 'He's not easy to miss.'

'Alright then,' The salesman said finally, 'Anything else?'

Zak turned to Angel and looked at her in question. She shook her head, but then Zak had an idea.

'Yes, one last thing,' Zak added, 'Do you have Ally of Justice Catastor by any chance?'

After a few moments the salesman nodded, 'We do. Do you want to buy one?'

'Indeed I do.'

The salesman left Zak and Angel and headed for another employee. The two spoke and then the salesman headed for the storeroom.

'Why do you want that?' Angel asked Zak.

'Ally of Justice Catastor is a Level 5 Synchro Monster,' Zak said simply, 'It has a great effect which will be great for taking on Photon cards. It destroys any non-DARK monster it battles with.'

'That's amazing! So you're going to get one?'

'I will. I have Effect Veiler and a lot of Level 4 monsters, so summoning it shouldn't be a problem.'

'So that'll take out that guy's Photon monsters, but what about his Malefics?'

'Haven't gotten to that yet.'

'Wonderful,' Angel said quietly.

The salesman returned with the card and Zak handed him some money for it. The salesman counted it and smiled before leaving Zak and Angel to their devices. Zak and Angel turned to leave, they had what they needed. For now, it was time to return to Angel's place and prepare for the party. Angel smiled at Zak and Zak returned the smile.

Zak now had a counter weapon against the mysterious figure.


	6. The Party

The party was a huge event. There was a red carpet, paparazzi and numerous famous Duelists. Zak felt himself a little overwhelmed by it all, but Angel seemed to fit right in. In the end, Zak decided just to follow her lead and act on instinct. It wasn't much of a plan by Zak's standards, but it'd do for the time being. A fancy limo had rolled up at Angel's apartment only half an hour before the party was to commence. It had arrived to take both Zak and Angel to the party in style. It was most than obvious that Angel was overly excited and ecstatic about everything, while Zak was more so stunned by it all. But that wasn't about to stop him from having a good time. He was in the finals after all.

Upon reaching the red carpet and almost stumbling out of the limo in his new suit, Zak looked around at the lights, noise and people. They were all there in the excitement, in the rush and the energy. Angel had already begun to show off by waving and blowing kisses at the crowd. Zak wasn't about to follow suit, but he put on a smile and looked at the cameras on occasion. Zak caught up to Angel eventually and the duo walked the rest of the way with their arms linked. Zak seemed to feel just a little more calmer when she was around now. Angel knew what she was doing and that helped Zak to fit in a little. The door to the party was a spectacle in itself; gold lined and majestic were its features. Gauche stood ready and waiting for the finalists as they arrived. He grinned as Zak and Angel approached.

'Invitation?' He inquired.

Zak reached into his jacket and handed the invitation to Gauche, who read it for a second before returning it to its owner. Gauche stepped aside and gestured for Zak and Angel to enter the party. After seeing the red carpet, limo and all; Zak didn't know what to expect within. He looked to Angel and saw her face light up as they entered the room. It was full of finely dressed people; duelists and not. A huge cake stood grandly in the centre and waiters walked about everywhere with snacks and refreshments.

'This is new,' Zak said softly.

'I love new,' Angel replied while gazing around in awe.

'So what now?'

'Now we mingle and we talk.'

'I'll follow your league then.'

Angel strolled off toward a group of women and begun to join in with their conversation. Zak didn't feel like following that kind of league and he resolved to look around for people he recognized. It wasn't long before he saw Kite. Zak realised that Kite would have definitely reached the finals; there was no way he'd miss out with his deck and skill. Kite was busy threatening someone with long silver hair, so Zak decided not to interfere. Zak looked around again and he saw many of the famous duelists from around the world that had come to Heartland just to compete in this Carnival. He felt somewhat intimidated by them all. They were all top class and very skilled. Zak was just a teenager who had been running on luck and using Angel's Heart Pieces to get in.

Then the spot lights kicked in and a huge hologram of Mr Heartland appeared. Zak looked up to where the new centre of attention was. At the top of the stair case was none other than Mr Heartland himself, aptly dressed in a fancy set of clothes like he was whenever he was seen. He began on a speech of welcoming the duelists and congratulating them all for their skill and effort for reaching the finals, followed by his motto of 'Heart Burning!' Mr Heartland and his hologram then proceeded to tell everyone that the finals would take place tomorrow and that he would now introduce all of the finalists. But before he could continue, the hologram began to flicker and fade out. The lights then completely shut off and everyone was left in darkness. Amidst the quiet chatter and confusion, the spotlights turned themselves back on and focused themselves at the bottom of the staircase.

In the middle of the light was a small child, who wore a mask. Zak found this new sight quite eerie and he looked about for Angel to make sure she was safe. Angel was still with the group of women who were all looking at the newest member of the party; the member that had just started laughing. The boy started to rush forward while keeping up his laughter and few comments of him loving cake. Everyone was silent now and Mr Heartland watched the boy intently. The boy had made his way up to Mr Heartland now and the two stared at each other without fault. Zak caught the word 'Tron' from what was being said between the boy and Mr Heartland. Zak deduced that Tron was the boy's name. Tron gave Zak goose-bumps in his presence.

Tron turned away from Mr Heartland and faced none other than Yuma, who Zak now realised was present. Zak had no idea that Yuma had been participating in the Carnival, nor that he had also made it to the finals. Tron called Yuma 'big brother' and then stared at the cake, calling it 'Astral' before finally letting of one last round of laughter and watching the lights fade into darkness once more. When the light returned, Tron had disappeared. Zak had no idea what had just taken place. Whoever Tron was, he seemed childish, but dangerous too. Mr Heartland just stood there perplexed, until the golden doors burst open to reveal a tall man wearing boxers.

Zak was now absolutely confused, first Tron and now this. What this how all parties ended up? The almost naked man pointed to a similarly tall coated person with a mask, calling the latter an imposter. The latter was surprised to see the former and began to make a run for it, knocking over a few people and tables in the process. The ensuing chaos can only be described as uncanny. The latter ended up being a small boy dressed in what seemed to be the semi-naked man's duelling attire. As the boy ran through the crowd, knocking over everything in the way and losing his stolen clothes in the process, the semi-naked man gave chase, causing an equal amount of destruction. Everyone else just watched in awe.

In the end, the cake was sent everywhere and on almost everyone, by the semi-naked man crashing into it. Zak had silently made his way to the back of the room to avoid the chaos and he saw that Angel had done the same. Mr Heartland, who was covered in cake, just stood we he was and removed his top hat, a smile forming on his face as he said Tron's name. Zak watched as Yuma and his friends rushed outside into the forest and the bouncers gave chase. Zak looked at Angel with an expression that asked her to leave with him. She nodded and the two met at the back door. Neither of them had much cake or food over themselves, much to Angel's relief. The duo silently left the party into the forest outside.

Then Zak saw something that shocked him, Yuma and Kite. The two were conversing just a few metres away from Angel and Zak. Yuma smiled at Kite and turned to leave; running after his friends who were already ahead. Kite turned slightly to look at Zak out of the corner of his eye and just simply nodded. Zak returned the favour and then turned to Angel, who seemed somewhat worried about Kite's presence. Zak smiled at Angel, and she managed a small smile in return. The two then looked to where Kite was, only to see that he had already left.

'He'll leave us alone 'til the finals at least,' Zak said to Angel.

'Why? Why doesn't he just hunt us down when he gets the chance?' She replied in a concerned voice.

'I'm not sure really. I think it's out of respect.'

'Respect? What for?'

'Because I spared him when I saved your soul. I think he's returning the favour.'

'That makes no sense at all.'

Zak couldn't help but smile at Angel's last comment. She tried to smile back but ended up just hitting him on the shoulder. She muttered something about boys before walking down the direction where Yuma and his friends had bolted off a few moments ago. Zak glanced one last time at the party before walking to catch up with Angel. They walked in silence for a while down the dark road: toward the exit of Mr Heartland's grounds. Little did they know that they were being followed. Then something strange happened; the pendant that Zak wore from the mysterious figure began to glow and vibrate. Zak frowned and stopped. Angel stopped shortly after and looked at him in question. Zak pulled out the pendant from under his suit and looked at it intently.

It was glowing brightly in the night and it seemed to be reacting to something close by. Zak looked around, but couldn't see anything that would make the gem do this. Neither Zak nor Angel had any idea about what was going on. Then Zak saw something out of the corner of his eye, a ripple of sorts. A ripple, like water, in one of the trees to the side of the road.

'What was that?' Zak said slowly.

'What was what?' Angel asked.

'There, that tree,' Zak replied, pointing to the tree in question, 'It… moved.'

Angel moved a tad bit closer to Zak now as he walked slowly toward the tree. Occasionally the tree would ripple now and again, and the gen in Zak's fingers only glowed stronger. Zak and Angel reached the tree and stared at it in confusion. It continued to ripple and the gen continued to glow. Angel slipped her hand into Zak's free one and gripped it tight. Zak looked at Angel and gripped her hand back. On impulse, he moved the gen closer to the rippling tree until the two came into contact. A small red flash ensued and then disappeared, taking Zak and Angel with it.

Then the one who had been following Zak and Angel moved out from the shadows over to the tree, which had stopped rippling. The newcomer looked about in confusion before looking at the ground. Zak's full Heart container lay there, left behind by the flash. The newcomer picked it up and turned it over in her hand.

'Heart Pieces?' Anna said slowly.


	7. The Silence

The first thing Zak noticed upon hitting the cold ground was the familiar weight of his Duel Disk on his left arm. He stumbled to his feet and looked around in confusion. His Duel Disk and deck had somehow found their way onto his person, and so had the rest of his usual Duelling getup. Just where was he? He looked around at the seemingly familiar area. It was Heartland, but also not Heartland at the same time. A blue hazy tint covered the landscape, the buildings and the people here. And it was silent, as silent as the shadows in the night. Zak shivered as he looked around. He was just in front of the Hospital where he would camp out each night. He then heard a small rustle and looked down to where it came from.

It was Angel, she was here too and she was just as dazed as Zak was. She was lying on the ground from where she had fallen from the rippling portal. She sat up and looked about in a daze. It was obvious that neither she nor Zak had any idea at what was going on. Angel slowly looked at Zak in question, but he shook his head in response. Angel stood up and glanced at her duel disk, which also had appeared on her arm upon falling through the portal. She too, was also in her usual Duelling clothes such as Zak was and had her deck with her too. Somehow, going through the rippling portal in that tree had transported them both to a different dimension of sorts; one that looked exactly like Heartland. Well, aside from the blue hazy tint that was.

'Where? What…?' Angel said after a pause.

'Heartland… I think….' Zak replied after an equal silence.

'My deck? It's here. And my dress is gone!'

'Same goes for me. Wherever we are, we obviously need our decks.'

'The Numbers? Are they here? Is this their doing?' Angel said in a concerned tone.

In haste, Zak flipped open his extra deck and checked the contents. He was relieved to see that all of his Number cards were present. Angel had done the same and all of her Numbers were still with her too.

'Maybe, but we can't be sure. I don't like it here at all,' Zak began, 'We came here through that tree at Mr Heartland's party. Maybe we can get back home through the same way.'

'It's a better plan than anything else,' Angel replied.

Together they began to walk off through the eerie silent streets of Heartland toward their destination. The people of the silent Heartland seemed cold and distant, but still alive and acted as if nothing was out of place. No one spoke, no one ran and no one even duelled. They just walked towards their journey's end in the eerie silence that covered the area like a blanket. Zak and Angel did their best to keep away from the soundless citizens. Everything about this new Heartland was almost scary. It was as if the soul of the place had been stolen from it.

But there was still the sense of being watched that followed Zak and Angel as they strolled through the streets. It stole into buildings and rushed through the alleys. It was there and it wasn't, always watching but never being seen. Zak and Angel kept close together and were always looking about to see anything out of the ordinary. But in a place like this, that was easier said than done. The duo followed the unsaid code of silence that was all about them. It was as if talking would cause the city to shatter into a million pieces.

The red gem that hung around Zak's neck was vibrating slightly and was glowing visibly under his black shirt. The one thing that Zak himself felt relieving was the fact that he was back to wearing his hoodie, jeans and shirt rather than the suit. He felt slightly more comfortable with what he had now compared to the formal attire. He sensed that Angel felt the same way. They were half way to the party place now and they walked down the middle of the road to stay away from the bluish citizens of the cold Heartland. There were no cars or buses or trucks at all. Everyone walked and only walked.

Zak would occasionally see someone he recognized, but he wouldn't draw their attention at all. Neither he nor Angel had any idea what was going on; and keeping out of trouble seemed like the best option until they knew what to do. Then Zak looked up at the sky, and the sight shocked him. He nudged Angel and gestured toward the sight. Both their jaws dropped in awe. The sky, while carrying the same bluish tint that covered everything and everyone, except Angel and Zak, was quite normal. The only difference between the sky of this place and the normal bright sky of Heartland was the sun.

Or, more correctly: the three suns. There was not just one bright yellow sun shining in this dull copy of Heartland, but there were three instead; one normal yellow, one red like the glowing gem, and one the same blue as the city. They all shone together in a triangle of sorts, each giving off the light to illuminate and darken the city at the same time. It was truly an unnerving sight. It was almost as if the silence streamed from the three suns themselves. But the people of the cold Heartland took no notice, like they did with everything else.

Zak felt a small fear rising in himself, and so he lowered his gaze from the sky and set it toward the destination in mind. Angel looked at the suns for a while longer before looking at Zak and trying to smile. But Zak couldn't return it, not this time. He had no idea what they were up against, where they were or even if they could get home. Neither he nor Angel wanted to be here, and each was trying their utmost to control the panic and fear rising within themselves. Then they both saw someone that was considered out of the ordinary. The mysterious figure of all people; he was here.

He stood at the end of the street that Zak and Angel were walking along, putting himself between them and Mr Heartland's party. He eyes still glowed and they were fixated on the duo walking toward him. He bore his Duel Disk and his air of mystery as if he had been doing all his life. But there was something different about him; the armour that he wore, the few pieces that covered him were no longer the silver of his eyes: but instead were a shiny black. As per usual, he made no sound and seemed to fit right in with the rest of the cold Heartland. But he was different; he, like Zak and Angel, was not bearing the hazy blue tint that accompanied the city. He wasn't a part of it, or so it seemed. Zak and Angel kept walking toward him, despite their fear, albeit at a slower pace.

Then at once he took off down a street to his right, tearing through the silence like a bullet. Zak looked at Angel and they both nodded. Now was not the time to wait and listen; now was the time to run and act. They picked up their pace into a run and gave chase to the mysterious figure. He was fast, unnaturally so, and was always ahead of the duo. He led them through alleys and streets like he owned the place. He didn't stop to wait; he just ran and ran and ran.

Then, at last he stopped and stood before the tired Zak and Angel. They stopped a few metres short and heaved a few breaths to catch their own. After they had caught their breaths, they looked up to where the mysterious figure was. But, of course, he was gone. He had only appeared before them to lead them to where they were now. Nothing more, nothing less. Zak and Angel looked around the cold city once again, trying to determine their location. They knew where they were; in front of the building that held Mr Heartland's party. The mysterious figure had led them here for a reason. But was it to help them? Or not?

But Zak didn't care for the reason; he just wanted to get out of this silent Heartland. He wanted to go home; and so did Angel. They had both had enough of the eerie silence, the three suns and the blue hazy tint that all enclosed the city. Zak walked up to the door with Angel following suit and he banged on it twice before trying to heave it open. No sound came from his attempts to open it, but the door gave way to him as he pulled. It swung open with some resistance and he moved inside, with Angel just behind him. The place was just as it was when they had left, despite there being far less people here now. Most of them had left after the cake incident.

Mr Heartland was gone, Kite was gone and so was Yuma and his friends. But none of the worried Zak or Angel; just wanted to go home. They made their way out the back door, avoiding everyone that was still present. Zak and Angel breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the road surrounded by trees that was home to the portal to the cold Heartland. They began to walk slightly quicker toward it, trying to reach the portal in haste. Then they saw it; the rippling tree. It wasn't easy to miss: it was the only tree that was not coloured the blue haze like everything else. It was the same colour as it was from the normal Heartland.

But there were two figures standing just in front of it, facing the tree. To the shock and surprise of Zak and Angel; it was them. A copy of both Zak and Angel stood at the tree, both with the silence and blue tint of the cold Heartland and both were in the formal attire that Zak and Angel had worn at the party. The original Zak and Angel approached them, but the silent two took no notice. Zak and Angel had no idea what was going on at all now, but they both felt cold inside upon seeing their duplicates. Angel reached out slowly to tap her doppelganger on the back. But before Zak could stop her, she made contact.

At once time froze. The two doppelgangers stopped in place, leaving Zak and Angel more confused than ever. But then the duplicate Angel glowed slightly; and a pale, semitransparent form of her rose from the duplicate. The new Angel, who looked like a ghost, bore the same formal attire at the doppelganger and also a duel disk. Her eyes glowed red as she faced Angel, who took few steps back. The ghost let off what seemed to be a roar which caused both hers and Angel's Duel Disk to activate. Angel looked to Zak for support, but Zak was just as stunned as she was. He regained his senses after a few moments and tried to nod and smile at Angel.

'It's… It's fine; just Duel her. Just Duel yourself. It'll be fine,' He stuttered.

Angel looked in horror at the ghost, who had already drawn her cards, and then tried to smile back at Zak, but to no avail.

[Angel: 4000] [AngelZERO: 4000]


	8. The Three Angels

'Angel… Zero? Wait, what?' Zak said, perplexed.

Angel was just as confused as he was. She was facing a ghostly form of herself in a duel, in what seemed to be a silent copy of Heartland. There wasn't much that could explain a situation like that. The Duel Ghost of sorts initiated her turn with a draw, her glowing red eyes focusing on Angel. Angel hadn't even drawn her hand yet, but soon made the move to do so. She may be up against a ghost of herself, but that didn't mean she was going to take it and lose.

The Duel Ghost started by activating Terraforming to add The Sanctuary in the sky to her hand. She then activated it immediately and summoned Nova Summoner to the field in Attack Position. She played two cards face down and ended her turn; all in a complete silence. Angel was nothing short of shocked; the Duel Ghost had her deck too, and played like she did. She was facing herself entirely. Angel hoped that she could outsmart her Duel Ghost and win the Duel, but she still wasn't sure of just how capable the Duel Ghost was. Angel began her turn and drew her card. Zak watched the Duel on the sidelines, and could only hope that Angel knew what she was doing.

'Alright Ghost! I'm going to take you down, even if you are me!' Angel said, finally finding her fighting spirit, 'I summon Gellenduo to the field! Now I activate Double Summon and I tribute my Gellenduo to advance summon Angel O7!' Now attack my angel and destroy her Nova Summoner!'

Angel O7 complied and slashed the Nova Summoner into non-existence. Angel knew full well the effects of Nova Summoner; it allowed the owner to Special Summon a LIGHT Fairy-Type monster from their deck to the field in Attack position upon its destruction. Angel smiled though; her Angel O7 had negated that effect with its own. But the Duel Ghost's Field Card had stopped herself from taking any Battle Damage. Angel had guessed that the Ghost had been trying to activate the effect of Nova Summoner and summon a stronger monster next turn. Then Angel thought of the Numbers. Did the Ghost have them too? The thought unnerved Angel slightly and she looked to Zak. It was obvious by his expression that he was thinking the same thing. He caught her gazed and gave her a small smile.

Angel looked at her hand and played two cards facedown before ending her turn. The Ghost began her turn instantly and drew her card. Her eyes were always fixated on Angel, but she still stayed perfectly silent, like the rest of the cold Heartland. The Ghost activated her facedown trap card: Call of the haunted and revived the Nova Summoner. She then tributed it to summon Tethys, Goddess of Light in Attack position; before playing another facedown to end her turn. She was fast and accurate, Angel thought.

Angel began her turn and looked through her hand, the two cards she had. One was Chaos-End Master, her Tuner monster. The other card in her hand was Athena: one of her main cards. She thought for a moment and then resolved to call upon Number 88. It was probably a good idea to defeat this Ghost quickly, and a Number was just the way to go.

'I activate my facedown Celestial Transformation!' Angel called out, 'And I use it to Special Summon Athena from my hand! Athena's attack is halved and destroyed at the end of this turn, but it doesn't matter: because I overlay my two Level 7 monsters to build the Overlay Network! Come forth Number 88: Goddess of Light! Now I activate my second facedown: Mystical Space Typhoon and I use it to destroy The Sanctuary in the Sky! Now we can both take battle damage from Fairy-Type monsters! So I'll activate the effect of Number 88: I use one Overlay Unit to give all of my monsters a bonus 300 Attack Points and piercing damage until the End Phase. Number 88 has 2500 and your Tethys has 2400, so take this! Goddess of Light: Attack her Tethys!'

The Duel Ghost simple sent Honest from her hand to the Graveyard and caused Tethys to gain the 2500 Attack Points from Number 88. Despite Tethys not being a Number and was therefore unable to destroy Number 88, Angel still took 2400 Points of damage.

[Angel: 1600]

Zak gritted his teeth; Angel was being outplayed by a Duel Ghost of herself. Angel herself snorted and ended her turn, with Number 88's Attack points returning to 2200. The Duel Ghost drew her card and simply directed Tethys to attack Number 88, before ending her turn.

[Angel: 1400]

The Ghost hadn't taken a single point of damage, and Angel even had her Number. This wasn't looking too good. Angel drew her card; Nova Summoner. She needed to act, and so she summoned her Chaos-End Master to the field in Attack position. She then reactivated the effect of Number 88, using an Overlay Unit to grant her monsters 300 more Attack Points and piercing damage until the End Phase.

'Go Number 88! Attack Tethys again!' Angel yelled.

This time the attack went through and Tethys was destroyed, resulting in the Duel Ghost taking damage.

[AngelZERO: 3900]

The real Angel kept up, and attacked with Chaos-End Master, who now resided on 1800 Attack Points due to Number 88. Satisfied, Angel ended her turn.

[AngelZERO: 2100]

The Duel Ghost drew her card in her silence and proceeded to activate her facedown Celestial Transformation to summon Airknight Parshath, before immediately tributed it to advance summon Prime Material Dragon. She finally activated her second facedown, that being Star Changer. She used it to raise the Level of Tethys by one so she could overlay her two Level 6 monsters to form an Overlay Network. Much to the horror of both Zak and Angel, out came Number 53: Stratosphere.

[Number 53: Stratosphere – 2000 ATK – 2400 DEF – WIND Attribute – Winged Beast-Type – Rank 6]

The effect of Number 53 was to use an Overlay Unit in order to increase its Attack by 500 and decrease an opponent's monster's Attack by the same amount until the End Phase. Angel thought that the Duel Ghost would choose Chaos-End Master and end the Duel straight away due to the damage being enough to defeat Angel. But she was wrong. Interestingly, the Duel Ghost activated the effect of Number 53 and targeted Angel's Number 88. The resulting battle ended with Number 88 being destroyed and Angel taking 800 points of damage. The turn was ended there.

[Angel: 600]

Both Angel and Zak were stumped, why would the ghost attack Number 88 when she could have easily won by destroyed Chaos-End Master? Did the Duel Ghost want to toy with Angel? Or was it more than that? Regardless, Angel drew her card; keeping the gaze of the Duel Ghost. Angel had drawn Monster Reborn, which was excellent. Maybe she was still in this.

'I activate Monster Reborn from my hand to Special Summon Number 88: Goddess of Light from my Graveyard,' Angel said loudly, 'I now Normal Summon Nova Summoner and tune it with my Chaos-End Master to Synchro Summon Ancient Sacred Wyvern!'

[Ancient Sacred Wyvern – 2100 ATK – 2000 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Fairy-Type – Level 7]

'However, due to the effect of Ancient Sacred Wyvern, it loses Attack equal to the difference in our Life Points,' Angel continued, 'So it powers down to 600 Attack Points. But that's still fine, because I attack Number 53 with Number 88!'

[AngelZERO: 1900]

'Now Ancient Sacred Wyvern gains 200 Attack points and it will attack you directly,' Angel shouted in an ounce of triumph.

[AngelZERO: 1100]

Angel ended her turn with Ancient Sacred Wyvern powering up to 1600 Attack Points because of its last attack. The Ghost drew in silence and activated Smashing Ground from her hand. Number 88 was destroyed in an instant. Seamlessly, the Ghost then ended her turn. Angel was surprised. The Ghost must have known it was going to lose now, but it didn't show it; it just glared into Angel's eyes. Angel drew her card and smiled at it: Dian Keto the Cure Master. She activated and restored her Life points by 1000.

[Angel: 1600]

With that, Ancient Sacred Wyvern also gain 1000 bonus Attack Points; raising it to 2600. Angel directed it to attack directly.

[AngelZERO: 0] [Winner: Angel]

The Duel Ghost didn't budge from when the attack hit home. It simply glared at Angel and began to fade into a sparkling dust. The dust flew into the duplicate Angel who had been frozen in time during the entire duel. At once, time began to flow again. Zak and Angel looked at each other in confusion and then embraced. This whole experience had been a little too much to take in. They watched as the duplicate versions of themselves began to walk off from the portal, leaving it alone and leaving Zak and Angel along with it.

There was so much to talk about between Zak and Angel: the Duel Ghost, time freezing, the silence, the bluish city, the Duel Ghost's Number and the portal. Now that they knew what they were up against in this cold Heartland, they felt a little bit better. So they sat down together beside the tree and just rested. They spoke quietly about the events that had transpired and tried to figure out what was going on. Zak sighed and looked up at the three suns, which were still eerily floating into the sky. Then Angel nudged him gently and gestured to the road just in front of them.

Zak sighed again when he saw what was before them. The mysterious figure just never seemed to leave them alone.


	9. The Explanation

Zak was beginning to get fed up with the mysterious figure. All he would do is show up, either duel Zak or Angel, or both (and thrash them), or run off. He wouldn't speak or let on about his motives. Just a duel or something, then he'd completely disappear. Zak had just been thrown into a silent version of Heartland with Angel and had then witnessed Angel face a Duel Ghost of herself. He wasn't about to deal with the mysterious figure being, well, mysterious. He just wanted to go home to Heartland and so did Angel. Zak rose to his feet and faced off the mysterious figure.

'If you're looking for a Duel, you can forget it,' Zak said boldly, 'Neither of us are going to deal with you.'

The mysterious figure did not react, nor did he raise his Duel Disk in response. He just stood there and waited.

'Well?' Zak shouted, 'Why are you here? What do you want?'

Again, nothing but silence came from the dark armoured shadow. Zak just sighed and sat back down with Angel. He wasn't going to put up with this now. He was going to regain his sense and strength and then leave this silent Heartland with Angel. Then the deep voice sounded in both of their minds.

'She faced a Duel Ghost,' It said.

Zak looked at the mysterious figure with a somewhat interested expression now. Angel did the same and spoke up.

'That's what it was? What is a Duel Ghost? How do you know about them?' She said with a bit of force.

'I shall explain it to you both then,' The voice sounded again, 'You both need to know what this place and its people really are.'

'Then explain,' Zak said calmly.

'Welcome to the alternate time stream,' The voice began, 'This is Heartland, but not your Heartland. It is a combination of your world, the Barian World and the Astral World. That is why everything has this bluish colour and why everything seems so strange to you both. You arrived here through a portal created by that gem around your neck. It is called a Barrier Light and it comes from the Barian World. Its unique properties allow its holder to access this alternate time stream.'

'Barrier Light?' Zak said, holding up the red gem.

'Indeed. The gem will allow you both to enter and exit this time stream at will through any one of the numerous portals scattered throughout Heartland. For your convenience, there is one just on top of the Hospital.'

'Well that would've been useful to know before now,' Angel said.

'This time stream runs parallel to your one, but it does not modify or even come in contact with your one; except through the portal. However, it is home to the Duel Ghosts, such as the one you've encountered already. These Ghosts reside in their respective Duelist and with be activated upon contact. Once defeated, they will return to their host.'

'And if they're not defeated?' Angel inquired.

The mysterious figure ignored the question.

'You'll find that they'll Duel with the harsh intent of winning and will very rarely talk. The only thing that will stall them from winning is their urge to destroy Numbers,' The mysterious figure continued, 'They will destroy a Number card before they attempt to win. It is their priority, followed by winning. Once you activate one, accidental or not, time will freeze and you'll have no choice but to Duel it.'

'And how do you know all this?' Zak asked, 'And why do the Duel Ghosts have the word Zero after their names?'

'That is none of your concern,' The mysterious figure retorted, 'As for the Zero part, do either of you know how many Numbers actually exist?'

'I'm guessing about 100 or so?' Zak replied after some thought.

'Exactly. There are Numbers from 0 to 99, and some will have Chaos forms, such as your Number 13. All Numbers from 1 to 99 are normal Number monsters; still evil, corrupting and dangerous, but just Numbers. Number Zero however is different; it exists only in this time stream while all other Numbers exist in your time stream. The Duel Ghosts possess copies of your Numbers, but not actual Numbers. Number Zero is the reason for this time stream's creation, the time stream was made to contain it and its absolute darkness. It is why the eyes of the Duel Ghosts glow red, why they are bent on winning and destroying other Numbers and why they have the word Zero after their names. Number Zero seeks to destroy all other Numbers and then destroy this timestream so it may break free into your timestream.'

'So where do we come in then?'

'You two have shown to be able to master the corruption that the Numbers afford over you. The times I duelled you both, were times I was testing you and your capabilities. However, despite both of your mental strengths being able to suppress the darkness the Numbers create, you would stand no chance against Zero. It would not attempt to control you, but completely erase you so you would become nothing more than a vessel for it.'

'Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. So how do we beat it?'

'In a duel. Zero will find a host sooner or later and attempt to leave this time stream into yours. Once it has a vessel, we need to duel it and defeat it.'

'And how exactly do we do that?' Angel blurted out, 'You said it's the strongest Number! So won't it be a strong Duelist and the Number itself will have powerful effects! How do we go about beating it?'

'Three versus one,' Said the mysterious figure shortly.

He then turned to Zak and spoke to him through the deep voice in Zak's and Angel's minds.

'I will meet you at the Hospital where we will Duel once more to see whether or not you stand a chance against Zero. Angel has proved herself against her own Duel Ghost, so you will face me in the place of yours,' The voice said solemnly.

'How can we trust you though?' Zak demanded.

'That's up to you.'

And with those final words, he took off at full speed down the road into the darkness of the oncoming night. Zak and Angel stood up and looked at each other. They felt just a bit safer after the mysterious figure's speech and explanation on the goings on of this cold Heartland, this alternate time stream. They checked to make sure that they had everything and headed off down the road. Zak could now feel something new, something that went with the silence and eeriness of the cold city; it was the darkness of Number Zero: it radiated everywhere. Zak shivered.

'You can feel it too?' Angel said quietly, 'The darkness?'

Zak nodded and kept walking. It was the same kind of darkness that Thirteen and the other Numbers would give off; only it was stronger and more menacing. Zak just wanted to get to the Hospital, duel the mysterious figure and go home. He and Angel walked down the dark road in their companionable silence, the silence of the cold Heartland. It still felt unnatural to talk in this place, which was probably why the mysterious figure talked through his mind.

'So when do we get to face off against you Duel Ghost then?' Angel said, breaking the silence.

'Do you really want to?' Zak said, managing a smile.

'I think I could take him,' Angel said, sounding bold.

'Well maybe I'll face your one then, and win obviously,' Zak replied.

'Obviously?' Angel said, trying to sound hurt.

Zak grinned and kept up his pace. They were almost at the end of the road now, and Zak knew where the Hospital was from there. Angel gave him a small punch on the shoulder and folded her arms. Zak looked at her and tried to make eye contact. Angel was trying to avoid and keep up the pretence of being offended. Then Zak tripped over something and almost fell to the ground. Angel gasped when she saw what it was. Time froze as Zak turned around and saw what he'd done. Facing him now, with piercing red eyes, was a Duel Ghost. A Duel Ghost of the boy Yuma that Zak had seen on occasion. Zak heard the click of his Duel Disk activating and saw that Yuma's Duel Ghost's Duel Disk was all ready and set.

It turned out that after Yuma and his friends had escaped from the party, they had all converged at the end of the dark road to catch their breaths, and Zak had just tripped over Yuma's foot. But there wasn't going to be an apology with Zak and Angel going on their merry way. There was going to be a Duel; and Zak hoped that Yuma was as easy as he looked, without the red eyes at least.

[Zak: 4000] [YumaZERO: 4000]


	10. The Awaited Duel

The Duel Ghost of Yuma began his turn right off the bat. Zak didn't know what to expect, was Yuma a good Duelist or just a kid who got to the finals through luck? Zak guessed he'd just find out through this duel. He glanced at Angel who was standing close by. She was worried, but Zak smiled at her to reassure her that he'd be fine. He always came out on top, no matter what. In an instant, the Duel Ghost Normal Summoned Gogogo Golem to the field in Attack Mode and Special Summoned Kagetokage through its own effect. He overlaid both Level 4 monsters and Xyz Summoned. The monster that now stood before Zak was Number 39: Utopia. Yuma's Duel Ghost set a card facedown and ended his turn there.

[Number 39: Utopia – 2500 ATK – 2000 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Warrior-Type – Rank 4]

Zak was somewhat impressed; a Number this fast. Then he mentally kicked himself; Yuma had a Number. Zak had forgotten all about Yuma's Duel with Charlie, where Yuma had used Number 39 and then changed it into its Chaos Number form. Zak wondered if Yuma possessed more Numbers other than the one that stood before him, and he dreaded facing Yuma's Chaos Number. Zak began his turn in silence, trying to determine Duel Ghost Yuma's state-of-play for this duel. But the glowing red eyes said nothing.

Utopia had 2500 Attack Points, so Zak needed to bring out something bigger than that. He looked through his hand for an answer. Three cards showed him the light and he decided to take that route.

'I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!' Zak called out, 'And I use his special ability to destroy your facedown card!'

The card was Mirror Mail, a card Zak also possessed. It would make an attacking monster's attack equal to that of its attack target. It was deadly when combined with a Number since the Numbers couldn't be destroyed with anything but another Number. Had Zak left that card alone and attacked with the monster he was going to bring out next, there would've been no point and his turn would've been wasted. But Zak was smarter than that.

'I now activate Double Summon! I can now Normal Summon once more, so I now summon Delta Flyer to the field! I use Delta Flyer's ability to make Breaker's Level become 5, so I can tune them together and Synchro Summon! Come forth my red warrior! Crimson Blader!'

[Crimson Blader – 2800 ATK – 2600 DEF – FIRE Attribute – Warrior-Type – Level 8]

Zak set his Call of the Haunted and Xyz Reborn trap cards and ordered Crimson Blader to attack. Yuma's Duel Ghost used one of Utopia's Overlay Units in response, and Crimson Blader's attack was simply negated. Zak grunted and ended his turn there. So that was Utopia's effect, Zak thought. Yuma's Duel Ghost began instantly and drew his card. He summoned Gagaga Magician in Attack Position and set another card. Zak recognized Gagaga Magician as a card that the mysterious figure had used against Zak and Angel only this morning. Yuma's Duel Ghost kept going and used a spell card called Blustering Winds and raised the Attack and Defence of Utopia by 1000. Then he attacked Crimson Blader with Utopia, destroying the former.

[Zak: 3300]

This was shortly followed by an assault from Gagaga Magician and a turn end.

[Zak: 1800]

Zak had been knocked back by the two attacks and he got to his feet and grunted as he drew his card. It seemed that Yuma, or at least his Duel Ghost, knew what he was doing. Zak immediately revived Crimson Blader with Call of the Haunted. He then set the Magic Cylinder he just drew and attacked Gagaga Magician with his revived Crimson Blader. Yuma's Duel Ghost activated his trap card: Half Unbreak. Gagaga Magician wouldn't be destroyed, and Yuma's Duel Ghost would only take half the battle damage.

[YumaZERO: 3350]

Zak had no choice but to end his turn, and Utopia's Attack Points returned to normal, much to Zak's relief. Yuma's Duel Ghost began its turn and immediately Normal Summoned Achacha Archer to the Field. Zak then took 500 points of damage due to the effect of Achacha Archer.

[Zak: 1300]

Yuma's Duel Ghost then used Gagaga Magician's effect to make itself Level 3 and then proceeded to Overlay his two monsters for another Xyz Summon. Out came another Number.

[Number 17: Leviathan Dragon – 2000 ATK – 0 DEF – WATER Attribute – Dragon-Type – Rank 3]

Yuma's Duel Ghost used one of Leviathan Dragon's Overlay Units and the latter gained 500 Attack. Zak stood there in shock as he saw the two Numbers before him. This Duel wasn't going to be easy, and he was almost certain that Yuma's Duel Ghost had more Numbers than this. Then Yuma's Duel Ghost activated a Spell Card called Cross Attack. If he controlled two monsters with the same attack points, then one could attack directly and the other couldn't attack at all this turn. It seemed that Yuma's Duel Ghost planned to finish off Zak this turn with a direct attack from Utopia. But Zak was ready for this.

'I activate Magic Cylinder!' Zak called out in triumph, 'Now you take all the damage that I would have!'

[YumaZERO: 850]

The Duel Ghost glared at Zak for a few moments before ending his turn. Zak wondered if the Ghost had been thinking of his next play, but he wasn't sure. Usually the Ghosts played their cards instantly and didn't wait. Why had Yuma's Duel Ghost paused then? Zak drew his card and looked at it; it was Fissure. He was going to activate it, but thought about what monster to target for its effect. It would destroy the opponent's monster with the lowest Attack Points. But both of Yuma's had 2500 Attack Points, so Zak was allowed to choose.

If he chose Utopia, then Yuma's Duel Ghost couldn't block any more of Zak's attacks, but if he chose Leviathan Dragon, the Yuma's Duel Ghost couldn't make use its last Overlay Unit to power it up. Zak resolved on choosing Leviathan Dragon; he didn't want to have to deal with a monster with 3000 Attack next turn.

'I activate Fissure from my hand and target Leviathan Dragon!' Zak shouted out, 'Now I attack Utopia with my Crimson Blader.'

As Zak had expected; Yuma's Duel Ghost detached the last Overlay Unit from his Utopia to negate the attack. Zak grinned; Utopia had no Overlay Units, Yuma's Duel Ghost had no cards facedown or any other monsters or any cards in its hand. Zak glanced at Angel and smiled, this Duel was in the bag. Angel smiled back in a relieved manner and cheered Zak on. Zak wondered how Yuma had ever reached the finals if this was how he played. Although Zak did have to admit that Yuma had skill and the Numbers to back him up, but he wasn't even close to the calibre of Zak or Kite. Zak ended his turn and waited for whatever Yuma's Duel Ghost tried to counter with, but Zak wasn't worried anymore; this Duel would be over shortly.

Yuma's Duel Ghost drew instantly as usual, but he didn't play his card; nor did he look at it. Then Zak saw what even seemed to be a smile on the Duel Ghost's face. A cruel smile. Zak's blood ran cold when he heard a deep voice sound in his mind.

'I use Number 39: Utopia as an Overlay Unit to Chaos Xyz Change,' The voice bellowed, 'Appear before us; Chaos Number 39: Utopia Ray!'

[Chaos Number 39: Utopia Ray – 2500 ATK – 2000 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Warrior-Type – Rank 4]


	11. The Chaos Duo

Zak was absolutely awestruck. He had completely forgotten about the Chaos Number since he gained the advantage. He didn't know Utopia Ray's effects, but since it was a Chaos Number; it was most likely powerful and dangerous. Zak looked at his cards and hand for an answer to it. He only had Crimson Blader equipped with Call of the Haunted and Xyz Reborn on the field. He hand consisted of only Trident Warrior. No cards could activate in his graveyard, so he was helpless against the effects of Utopia Ray now.

Zak turned to Angel, who looked at the Chaos Number with uncertainty. She had never seen one before, but she obviously recognized it as dangerous. The only thing that gave Zak any bit of hope was the Attack Points of Utopia Ray; they were only 2500 while Zak's Crimson Blader resided on 2800. Zak's gaze fell to Yuma's Duel Ghost, who was glaring at Zak intensely. Zak grimaced and waited for the Duel Ghost to make his turn. The Duel Ghost had actually spoken to Zak through his mind, such as the mysterious figure did, but only because it had brought out what seemed to be its ace monster.

The Duel Ghost used the only Overlay Unit circling Utopia Ray and activated the latter's effects. It turned out that it could gain 500 Attack until the End Phase for every Overlay Unit used and then decrease and opponent's monster's Attack by 1000 too. Utopia Ray's Attack rose to 3000 and Crimson Blader's decreased to 2300. Yuma's Duel Ghost directed the giant metal warrior to crush through Zak's Synchro and the Chaos Number obeyed.

[Zak: 800]

Zak was thrown back by the force of Utopia Ray and he watched as Crimson Blader was destroyed again before his eyes. Yuma's Duel Ghost simply ended his turn and Utopia Ray's Attack returned to normal subsequently. If Zak didn't make a comeback, Utopia Ray would crush through him next turn. Zak drew and hoped with everything he had that it was a card that could help him. He had drawn Shine Knight. A surge of relief rushed through Zak; Shine Knight may not be enough to destroy Utopia Ray, but it would certainly help. Zak found his voice and fighting spirit once again and began his counterattack.

'Alright Duel Ghost!' Zak said with some force, 'I summon Trident Warrior to the field and use its effect to Special Summon Shine Knight in Defence Mode! Shine Knight then becomes Level 4 due to its own effect; so I Overlay my two Level 4 monsters to Xyz Summon! I call out Gem-Knight Pearl! And with his 2600 Attack Points being more than Utopia Ray's 2500, I think I might put them all to use! Attack Gem-Knight Pearl!'

[YumaZERO: 750]

Zak ended his turn there. He couldn't do much else, and Yuma's Duel Ghost possessed only 50 Life Points less than him. This Duel was beginning to truly heat up now. Zak just hoped he could last long enough to find a way to defeat the Duel Ghost, assuming that was possible. Yuma's Duel Ghost drew then Summoned Gogogo Giant to the Field. With it, he then Special Summoned Gogogo Golem from his Graveyard in Defence Position and then switched Gogogo Giant into Defence Position too. Yuma's Duel Ghost then Overlayed its two Level 4 monsters and promptly Xyz Summoned Gagaga Gunman in Attack Position.

[Gagaga Gunman – 1500 ATK – 2400 DEF – EARTH Attribute – Warrior-Type – Rank 4]

Yuma's Duel Ghost then used an Overlay Unit from Gagaga Gunman and used its effect. While it was in Attack Position when the Overlay Unit was used; one of Zak's monsters would lose 500 Attack and Gagaga Gunman would gain 1000 Attack until the end of the Damage Step when it battles. Gem-Knight Pearl was reduced to having only 2100 Attack and Gagaga Gunman stepped up to 2500 Attack. Gagaga Gunman shot down Gem-Knight Pearl on the Duel Ghost's command.

[Zak: 400]

Zak looked at the Duel Ghost; it was ready to attack again with Utopia Ray. Utopia Ray raised its huge dark sword, by Zak countered with his facedown Xyz Reborn; bringing back Gem-Knight Pearl in Attack Position with a single Overlay Unit. The Duel Ghost simply called off the attack and ended its turn with a facedown. Zak drew; it was Hammer Shot, but he didn't plan on using it because it would only destroy his Gem-Knight Pearl. Zak hoped that the facedown card that Yuma's Duel Ghost possessed wasn't one that would turns the tides again, because Zak had no choice but to attack Gagaga Gunman with Gem-Knight Pearl. If the attack connected, then Yuma's Duel Ghost would be finished.

'Okay, time to end this,' Zak said through gritted teeth, 'Gem-Knight Pearl: Attack his Gagaga Gunman!'

[YumaZERO: 200]

Zak frowned at the screen and waited for the dust to clear from the last attack. Yuma's Duel Ghost had activated his trap card, Damage Diet, at the last second; causing him to take half the damage he should've taken from the attack: a total of 1100 Points halved into only 550. Zak grunted and ended his turn. Utopia Ray still hovered on the Duel Ghost's side of the field, waiting for its next command. Yuma's Duel Ghost drew instantly as usual and set another card facedown before switching Utopia Ray into Defence Position and ending its turn there. It was a fast as a bullet with its moves, always knowing exactly what to do and when to do it. Zak began his turn in silence; he drawn Summoner Monk! Zak grinned when he saw what he could do: he could summon Thirteen and then destroy Utopia Ray with it! At once Zak summoned his drawn monster, with it switching into Defence Position via its own effect.

'Get ready for this Ghost!' Zak shouted in triumph, 'I activate the effect of my Summoner Monk! By discarding a Spell Card from my hand, such as this Creature Swap, I can Special Summon one Level 4 monster from my deck straight to the field!'

Zak saw Angel's eyes light up when she saw what he was doing. The Duel was almost over; and it was going to be over in Zak's favour.

Zak continued, 'I Special Summon Destiny Hero – Defender to the field in defence Position and Overlay it with my Summoner Monk! I bring out my Number 50: Black Corn!'

The Duel Ghost didn't seem too happy about this turn of events, assuming it could feel emotion. But Zak wasn't about to stop.

'Now, with my two Rank 4 monsters… I build a new Overlay network,' Zak roared, 'I extend Xyz Summon! Arise, my soul of chaos, Number 13: Darkshine Dragon!'

The dragon burst from the night sky in a silver inferno. Despite being the very embodiment of Zak's conflicting darkness and light, it had descended without the darkness of the Numbers that it once had. Zak and it were equals. Zak was about to give the order to attack and destroy Utopia Ray, but he stopped. He thought to himself, no doubt the facedown the Duel Ghost had was a trap that would halt Zak's attack or protect Utopia Ray. Then next turn the Duel Ghost would find some way to counterattack and possibly even defeat Darkshine Dragon. But Zak finally found a way to defeat Yuma's Duel Ghost, instead of using Battle Damage; Zak was going to defeat it through effect Damage, with none other than his own Chaos Number.

'And here we go!' Zak shouted once more, 'I combine my Darkshine dragon with its Overlay Units to Chaos Xyz Change! Now the heavens will give way to the incarnation of the chaos within my own soul, and the power it brings forth! I call upon you now! Chaos Number 13: Darkshine Dragon Ascension! You aren't the only one with a Chaos Number, Ghost!'

[Chaos Number 13: Darkshine Dragon Ascension – 3000 ATK – 0 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Dragon-Type – Rank 4]

Angel took a few steps back at the sight of Zak's new beast. She was terrified and amazed at the same time. This was the very monster that Zak had used to save her soul and now it was right before her eyes, ready to defend its master and bring the end to the Duel Ghost. Angel couldn't help but shed a tear and she cried out to Zak.

'Go sweetie!' Angel called, 'Finish this! Bring it to 'em!'

Zak remembered those words, 'Bring it to 'em;' he'd heard the actual Yuma use them before. Zak smiled softly and removed all of the Overlay Units from the six that swirled around his Chaos Number.

'I can use all Overlay Units, when my Life Points are 1000 or lower, to destroy all monsters on the field,' Zak said calmly, 'Then you will take damage equal to the combined Attack Points of all of those monsters! So now, Darkshine Dragon Ascension, destroy his Utopia Ray and finish this! Eternal Sunlit Shadow!'

The dragon roared out in sheer power and flew high into the night sky, covering itself in a silvery flame as it did. Soon meteors began to descend from the night sky and rain down upon Utopia Ray, destroying it. The Darkshine Dragon Ascension roared again and flew straight down into Yuma's Duel Ghost, causing a huge explosion. Zak managed to just stop himself from being thrust back and he waited for the dust and smoke to settle. When it had, Zak saw that Utopia Ray was no more, but the Duel Ghost was still standing, with a newly activated trap card in front of it. The trap was Doppelganger of all cards. Due to its effects, whenever the Duel Ghost would have taken damage due to one of Zak's monster effects: Zak would take the same damage.

'Aww come on!' Zak sighed, as both of their Life Points dropped to zero.

[YumaZERO: 0] [Zak: 0]

[DRAW]


	12. The Waiting

Zak found himself somewhat disappointed in himself as he watched the Duel Ghost disintegrate back into the silent Yuma. He'd brought out his own Chaos Number in response to the Duel Ghost's Chaos Number and had then had victory in his grasp. If only the Duel Ghost hadn't used that last trap card, then maybe it wouldn't have been a draw and Zak would have proven himself over the other finalist's Duel Ghost. Then Zak frowned; why was the Duel Ghost disintegrating? Didn't they only do that when they lost? Zak looked to Angel, who was walking over to him, for an answer.

'I guess a draw counts as a loss for them then,' Angel said calmly.

Zak shrugged and returned his cards to his deck; a draw would have to do, though he now wanted to settle the score with the real Yuma in the World Duel Carnival Finals tomorrow. But nevertheless, he was relieved that he hadn't lost to the Duel Ghost.

'Let's go find that mysterious figure then,' Zak replied to Angel, 'The sooner we get out of here, the better.'

'I agree sweetie,' Angel said with her usual grin, 'So that was your Chaos Number then?'

'Yep, he's great.'

'That's all? Just "He's great?" Nothing else?'

'Nope. Although I have to say that Yuma's Chaos Number was a bit of a struggle. I'd hate to see it with full Overlay Units.'

'Now that would be a workout.'

Zak didn't need to reply. Instead he just gave Angel a small punch on the shoulder and kept up his pace toward the hospital. She punched him back, though a little harder, but still in a joking way. Zak lowered his hood and breathed in deeply. The cold Heartland was not the most comforting of places, but it did have a relaxing appeal due to the silence. They were headed to the Hospital to meet with the mysterious figure. Hopefully then they could return back to their Heartland and not stay in this prison for Number Zero.

Zak thought back to a few days ago, when he'd started on his quest to end the Numbers in Heartland; it had seemed a lot easier back then. All he'd wanted to do is stop people getting hurt so maybe things would be safer. He had never thought of ending up in a separate reality where everyone here was a duel ghost under the control of the almighty Number Zero. Just what was Number Zero? A monster, an alien or just a card? Or was it all of the above. Deep down, Zak knew that he'd have to face this beast sooner or later. But he didn't want to. Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon was the most powerful monster Zak had ever faced, and it wasn't even a Number. How would he beat the strongest Number if he had difficultly overcoming that beast?

Angel sensed Zak's worry and promptly stopped. Zak noticed a few seconds after. Zak looked at her in confusion, but her gaze said everything.

'Stop it,' Angel said quickly, 'Stop worrying.'

Zak didn't reply, he couldn't help but worry. What if he failed?

Angel continued, 'Damnit Zak! You can't act like this! You can't live in fear of Zero! It's not going to help and you know it!'

Zak sighed and nodded before eventually finding his feet again.

'You're right, we've faced worse before. Why should we see Zero as any different?' Zak said finally.

Angel gave him a small smile before changing the subject, 'So, got any special tricks planned for the finals?'

'Aside from my Crimson Blader? Not in the slightest.'

Angel rolled her eyes and kept walking. Zak could just see the slightest hint of a smile across her lips. They had reached the hospital now, so it was almost time for Zak to face the mysterious figure yet again. Zak thought back to his first duel with the mysterious figure, and how he'd been defeated in an instant. Then Zak thought to the next duel and he saw that Angel's face meant she was thinking the same. Just how did the mysterious figure have Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon; Kite's ace card?

They neared the front doors of the cold hospital and looked about. There was no sign of the mysterious figure or any sign of the portal they could use to leave into Heartland.

'Isn't he supposed to meet us here?' Zak queried.

'Yeah, but then where is he?' Angel responded.

They continued to look around the cold heartland hospital for the following ten minutes to no avail. Not a single soul or duel ghost passed through their sights. Zak shrugged and gestured toward the top of the hospital to Angel. She nodded and they passed through the doors. For some reason, there was no one manning the counters as they headed toward the elevator. The silence was eerie and both Angel and Zak shivered as they headed for the roof.

Upon reaching the top, the place felt colder and darker. Angel and Zak were now on their guard as they waited for the elevator doors to open. They walked out and glanced around quickly. The same pale blue haze that covered the cold Heartland was up here. In the centre of the hospital was where the mysterious figure stood. There was something odd about him, something off, Zak noticed. Angel was the first to breaking the surrounding silence.

'We're here. Let's get this over with,' Angel said, trying to sound with her usual energy and happiness.

The mysterious figure kept his silence and engaged his Duel Disk. Zak, following the silence, stepped forward and did the same.

'Good luck again sweetie,' Angel said meaningly.

Zak nodded and smiled at her.

'How hard could it be?' He joked.

Zak and the mysterious figure now faced each other as Zak raised his hood. He noticed what was different about the mysterious figure; his armour was darker, now a dull grey. Something was wrong with him, if something could be wrong with him. He was as soundless as they had first met and he didn't look like he was going to go easy. Zak could only play his cards right.

[Zak: 4000] [?:4000]


	13. The Sixteen Levels

'So where's this portal?' Zak called out.

No answer.

'Where's Number Zero?'

Still no reply.

'Fine then. Are you ready to duel?'

Silence followed by the drawing of five cards. Zak was nervous now; the mysterious figure was perfectly silent and seemed bent on duelling and duelling alone. Zak looked to Angel in earnest. She seemed as anxious as he was, but she managed to smile at him. Zak tried to smile in return, but it just wasn't there. Malefic and Photon and possibly more than that. This duel would be a true test, and Zak doubted that even his Chaos Number stood much of a chance against the mysterious figure. Zak drew his hand slowly and, instantly, the mysterious figure began his turn.

First was the fusion summon of two Photon monsters with Polymerization in order to create Twin Photon Lizard. Then the mysterious figure tributed his fusion beast to Special Summon both Photon monsters back to the field. They were Photon Crusher and Photon Lizard. Zak did not like where this was going; he expected Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon soon and he was not ready for it this quickly. But it did not come, something else did. The mysterious figured tributed both Photon monsters to advance summon a monster Zak had never seen before.

[Greed Quasar – ? ATK – ? DEF – DARK Attribute – Fiend-Type – Level 7]

Zak frowned at the skeletal monstrosity in front of him. Just what was the mysterious figure playing at? Then the echoing voice sounded across his mind.

'Greed Quasar's attack and defence are equal to its level multiplied by 300,' It sounded, 'It can also gain the levels of any monster is destroys. Next will come my equip spell: Overlevel. This then raises the attack of my monster by 100 per level it has. The attack and defence are currently at 2800. Your turn.'

Zak looked once again at Greed Quasar in confusion, but eventually he decided to focus on his cards and not his opponent's. Zak didn't have any cards in his hand that could take out Greed Quasar as of yet, but he had a way to at least match it. He drew his card and looked at his hand: Trident Warrior, Delta Flyer, Shine Knight, Pot of Avarice, Chaos Sorcerer and Call of the Haunted. Not a bad hand to start with, but not great either. Zak decided to take the offensive defence and promptly summoned Trident Warrior and Delta Flyer through the former's effect. After raising the level of Trident Warrior by one through Delta Flyer's effect, Zak tuned his monsters and Synchro Summoned Crimson Blader.

There they stood, two currently equally powerful beasts of the first turns. Zak knew better than to attack right now, he didn't need to lose his Crimson Blader.

'I end my turn with this facedown,' Zak said with determination.

The mysterious figure was still instantaneous with his draws and plays and this turn was no different. After his draw, a facedown to match Zak's was all it took for the turn to end. Not a word, just a draw and a facedown. Zak responded quickly with his draw: Blustering Winds! Zak couldn't help but grin, now he could take out that Greed Quasar. He promptly activated it in order to boost his Crimson Blader by 1000 attack and defence points. However, he failed to realise that the mysterious figure was already one step ahead and the facedown Dark Bribe the mysterious figure had was proof of that. Zak grunted and drew another card; Cyber Valley. Zak ended his turn there and waited for what was to happen next.

And what happened next broke the stalemate of sorts. The mysterious figure drew quickly and activated an annoying card for Zak: Star Changer. With this card, the mysterious figure raised the level of Greed Quasar by one and therefore; its attack rose by 400 points to 3200. The mysterious figure directed the monstrosity to devour Zak's Crimson Blader. It was not a pretty sight for Zak to watch one of his beloved cards be eaten by a skeletal wretch, but there was nothing he could do.

[Zak: 3600]

Then Zak's stomach turned over when he remembered what the mysterious said about when Greed Quasar destroys a monster; it gains the destroyed monsters levels. But that would mean going over 12 levels, Zak thought. And he was right; Greed Quasar was boosted from Level 8 to Level 16 and its attack received no less of a boost. Zak was now without a monster and was being stared down by a monster with no less than 6400 attack due to its own effect and Overlevel.

'Way to make it stronger,' Zak thought, mentally kicking himself.

The mysterious figure ended his turn without a word and waited in silence for Zak to try and make a counterattack. Zak realised that this was still a test to prove himself as being able to handle Number Zero. But after Greed Quasar showing itself as quite a feat to take down, Zak really didn't know whether or not he was worthy to save the world from Number Zero. No doubt it would be more powerful than this, but Zak was still having trouble. He drew his card and looked at Angel for comfort. She looked right back into his eyes and mouthed a few words.

'You can do it.'

Zak nodded and looked at his newly drawn card; it was only Double Summon, so it was not a way to defeat the Greed Quasar. Zak had only a few options left in order to protect himself and so he decided on using the best one at hand.

'I summon Cyber Valley in attack mode and end my turn!' Zak said.

He knew that it would only protect him for one turn, and he hoped that it was all that was necessary to hopefully turn things around. When attacked, Cyber Valley could banish itself and its owner could draw a card and end his opponent's Battle Phase. Greed Quasar had nothing against it. The mysterious figure drew in his uncanny silence and took the bait Zak had left for him. He directed Greed Quasar to attack and Zak promptly banished it to draw a card. The mysterious figure then ended his turn with a facedown immediately.

Zak drew and looked at his two newly drawn cards: one was Summoner Monk and the other was a card that Zak was overjoyed in seeing. It was Creature Swap and It was Zak's ticket to victory.


	14. The Reversal

Zak could not help but grin at the mysterious figure when he saw the newly drawn Creature Swap. Angel saw Zak's grin and promptly smiled herself. She cheered out for Zak and urged him to win. Zak took a deep breath himself and focused; he had no intention of screwing this up.

'Alright, it's time for a reverse of situation!' Zak called in triumph, 'I summon Shine Knight in attack mode! It may have 6000 less attack points than your Greed Quasar, but no matter; you won't be the one using them! I activate Creature Swap! This forces us to switch control of one monster we control of our choosing! Since there's really only one option each; I'll be taking your Greed Quasar and you may have my Shine Knight in return.'

The huge skeletal Greed Quasar slowly moved to position itself behind Zak while Shine Knight simply walked to stand in front of the mysterious figure. Zak was sure that the mysterious figure was not used to such a predicament and so he looked directly at the shining silver eyes of his opponent. There was no emotion in them, no fear of being faced by his own Greed Quasar of 6400 attack points. No issue with being about to lose. Zak then looked at the mysterious figure's facedown and realised that the facedown must be a card to reverse the situation. If Zak were to attack, then there was a strong chance that the facedown was Mirror Force or something similar.

Zak knew he had to be sure to protect himself from whatever could be facedown and so he looked at his hand for an answer. Nothing there, but Zak remembered his facedown: Call of the Haunted. If the facedown was Mirror Force, then Zak could bring back his crimson Blader to protect himself. Zak nodded at his own plan and then directed the Greed Quasar to attack. Surely enough, the mysterious figure activated his facedown; but it was only Scrap-Iron Scarecrow: a card that only stops an attack. Zak grunted and ended his turn. There was no need to return Crimson Blader to the field now.

The mysterious figure drew instantly and switched Shine knight into defence mode and ending his turn. Zak drew his card in equal silence and considered his options. He'd drawn Space Cyclone and he didn't need it. He decided to finally take a true offensive stance and do some damage. Zak activated his Call of the Haunted and revived his Crimson Blader. He directed to attack Shine Knight without a second thought. Shine Knight was destroyed by the sword of Zak's Crimson Blader. Zak knew that attacking with Greed Quasar would be pointless due to the facedown Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, so he decided to speed things up and just end his turn there.

The mysterious figure drew and activated Malefic World from his hand. Up until now, Zak had completely forgotten about the Malefic monsters that existed in the mysterious figure's deck. Zak grimaced when it dawned on him: the Greed Quasar was only a façade to draw attention away from the true horrors in the mysterious figure's deck. And now, due to his carelessness, Zak was about to face them.

Or so he thought. Instead of bringing out any monsters at all, the turn was ended there. Zak frowned; was that really it? Was he really going to win that easily? No Malefics at all? Zak had a bad feeling about it all, but it was an opportunity to win and he knew he couldn't ignore it. Zak drew: Strong Wind Dragon. Zak didn't need it, so he elected to attack with Greed Quasar. The mysterious figure proceeded to block the attack with his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. In response: Zak attacked with Crimson Blader. There was no defence this time and so the attack was a direct hit. Zak grinned upon the attack connecting.

[?: 1200]

Zak ended his turn and waited. If all went well, then he'd win next turn; as easy as that. He'd actually beat a Malefic and Photon deck with one of its own ace cards: Greed Quasar. Angel too was grinning when she saw what the duel was coming down to. The mysterious figure, however; did not seem to care that he was about to lose. In fact, he seemed quite neutral to the whole situation. Instead of drawing his usual card, he activated Malefic World to add a random Malefic monster to his hand. Now he had three cards in his hand, and Zak knew that at least one of them was a Malefic monster. The mysterious didn't stop and quickly banished Cyber End Dragon from his Extra deck to Special Summon Malefic Cyber End Dragon. He then directed it to attack Zak's Crimson Blader.

Zak had completely forgotten to fortify his defences and had to take the attack. The mysterious figure ended his turn there.

[Zak: 2200]

Zak drew his card: Fissure. Zak grinned once again; now there was no stopping him now. He looked though his cards once again for the key to victory. The mysterious figure had Scrap-Iron Scarecrow and Malefic Cyber End Dragon standing in Zak's way. Zak had only the Greed Quasar at 6400 Attack Points on his field. If he attacked, then his attack would be blocked. So he needed a second monster on his field to take out the rest of the mysterious figure's Life Points. Strong Wind Dragon and Summoner Monk were the only two monsters he had in his hand and the former couldn't summoned without a tribute. However, Summoner Monk could Special Summon a Level 4 monster from Zak's deck at the cost of one Spell Card from Zak's hand. If Zak brought out a monster with more than 1200 Attack points, then victory was assured.

Zak smiled as he saw that there was no way that the mysterious figure could block the second attack and defeat him. With that thought, Zak summoned Summoner Monk which was switched to defence position due to its effect. Zak then discarded Space Cyclone from his hand to activate Summoner Monk's effect and Special Summon Master of the Flaming Dragonswords from his deck. However, Master of the Flaming Dragonswords could not attack this turn; but Zak was ready for this.

'I overlay my two Level 4 monsters to Xyz Summon! I call upon Gem-Knight Pearl!' Zak shouted, 'I then activate Fissure to destroy your Malefic Cyber End Dragon!'


	15. The Return

A giant crack split the hospital roof in between Zak and the mysterious figure and a huge arm shot up to grip Malefic Cyber End Dragon before dragging the roaring beast into the depths below. Zak and Angel grinned in triumph; Zak had done it, now he just needed to attack and win! But the mysterious figure was as unsettled as ever and did not seem shaken in the slightest. Then it happened, the mysterious figure's true counterattack.

[?: 600]

It took Zak a few moments to realise what had just happened. The mysterious figure had just lost his Malefic Cyber End dragon to Zak's Fissure; but Zak hadn't played any cards to make the mysterious figure lose Life Points. Then the final piece of the deadly puzzle finally fitted into place in Zak's mind and he looked up in terror. Behind the mysterious figure was Malefic Truth Dragon; roaring with its 5000 blazing attack points. The mysterious figure had halved his Life Points to summon this monster upon the destruction of Malefic Cyber End Dragon. Zak couldn't move; he was rooted in place because of this new turn of events. While Zak did have the strongest monster on the field, that being Greed Quasar with its 6400 attack points; he knew the outcome and it was not in his favour.

Zak desperately looked through his hand for a way out. If he could not destroy Malefic Truth Dragon, then he would surely lose next turn. Malefic Truth Dragon would attack Zak's Gem-Knight Pearl and reduce Zak's Life Points to 0. Even if Zak did attack with Greed Quasar, the mysterious figure would negate the attack with his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. There was no way out. Zak considered each card in his hand. Firstly, there was Pot of Avarice; but Zak only had 4 monsters in his graveyard. Secondly, there was Chaos Sorcerer; but there were no DARK Attribute monsters in his graveyard. Lastly; there was Strong Wind Dragon; but Zak had already Normal Summoned already. Zak could not destroy the Malefic Truth Dragon by attacking and he could not defend himself either.

Zak looked to Angel with a sad smile. Her expression was a question: 'Anything?' Zak shook his head and calmly ended his turn. He'd come so close to victory, so very close. Despite his eminent loss, he couldn't help but give a small smile. He'd taken one of the mysterious figure's strongest monsters and reduced his Life Points to only 600 as well as destroy a Malefic monster. And he'd had the upper hand for more than half the duel. Zak felt like he'd put up a great fight and, somehow, he felt that it was worth it. The mysterious figure's voice sounded once again as he drew his last card.

'Game Over,' It said as Malefic Truth Dragon attacked Gem-Knight Pearl.

[Zak: 0] [Winner: ?]

Zak was blasted back the edge of the hospital as the duel ended. Angel rushed over to him.

'Hey Zak! Zak! Are you alright?' Angel asked in concern.

'Ugh… Damn that Scrap-Iron Scarecrow,' Zak said slowly as he sat up.

Angel couldn't help but give a small smile at Zak's comment. He was obviously fine. Angel helped Zak to his feet as he returned his cards to his deck. The mysterious figure had already done the same and was now facing Zak and Angel in silence.

'That was… fun,' Zak began.

No reply.

'Nothing?' Zak asked, 'You have nothing to say? At all?'

Again: silence. Instead, the mysterious figure simply nodded at Zak and gestured toward the side of the elevator. Both Zak and Angel looked to where he'd meant. The surface of the side of the elevator seemed to ripple slightly. It was the portal back to Heartland, Zak and Angel realised. Zak looked back to where the mysterious figure stood to thank him; but the latter had already left in an instant. Zak looked to Angel and shook his head. They began to walk toward the portal to leave the cold Heartland.

Zak, for one, was absolutely grateful for that. This cold Heartland was a terrible place to be. The blue haze and absolute silence did nothing to make the place any more liveable. Not to mention the numerous duel ghosts plaguing the area and the everlasting dark presence of Number Zero. Zak had had enough of the cold prison and its three suns and he was positive that Angel felt the same. The duo approached the rippling wall as Zak reached for the Barrier Light gem around his neck. He moved the stone close to the rippling wall and, at once, it resonated against the wall and caused it to become clear.

They could see the normal Heartland hospital though it as clear as day. Angel looked at Zak nervously and so he nodded at her and smiled to comfort her.

'Ready to go home?' Zak asked.

'More than you know,' Angel replied quickly.

And with that, she stepped through the portal back into the real Heartland. Zak turned around and took one last look around the cold Heartland. Not a single soul in sight. But the mysterious figure was there and so was Number Zero; and Zak still didn't know the former's motives or allegiance. Was he friend or foe? Zak shivered once and then finally followed Angel back home.

The first thing Zak noticed was the brightness of the real Heartland; closely followed by the warmth and lack of blue haze. Zak grinned when he looked around from the top of the hospital. He then looked at the single sun floating in the sky and breathed in deeply. It was great to be back and not on edge every second. No more duel ghosts. No more blue haze. And, for now, no more Number Zero. Zak spotted Angel standing a short distance away. He walked up to her and looked her in the eyes.

'We're back,' Zak said simply.

'Sweetie, it's so good to be back,' Angel said with her usual grin, 'Couldn't stand to be in there any longer.'

'I can agree to that.'

'So what's next? The finals right?'


	16. The Finals

It was midday by the time Zak and Angel returned to their timestream and both were exhausted from the nightmare of the cold Heartland. It was such a relief to be back home. Despite the urges to sleep and relax after their ordeal; Zak and Angel were in a rush. It was the day of the finals; and Zak was late. As quick as a flash, both he and Angel had descended the elevator to the bottom of Heartland's hospital and were about to rush through the doors toward the location of the World Duel Carnival Finals. However, Zak noticed something just out of the corner of his eye; the television monitor above the front counter.

The screen showed the 23 finalists lining up in front of their duel coasters. Zak was puzzled, shouldn't there only be 22 since he wasn't there? He wanted to stay and look at each of the individual finalists to see what was wrong, but there was no time. Angel was beckoning to him from the front doors. Zak regained his urge to rush and the duo sped off yet again. Ducking in and out of alleyways, not stopping to catch their breath, Zak and Angel raced toward the Finals at full pelt. As it turned out; both were still equipped with their Duel Disks and duelling gear from the cold Heartland.

That left the question of where were their formal clothes; but they'd deal with it later. For now, it was unimportant compared to the current task. At last they reached their destination: The Heartland Stadium. Viewing the Finals for members of Heartland was free of course, and so the stadium was packed. Zak and Angel rushed to the top of the stairs at the back of the stadium. At this time, all the duellists were in their Duel-Coasters of sorts. Neither Zak nor Angel had ever seen anything like them. Then they heard the loudspeaker of Mr. Heartland himself.

'Finalists! Please place your completed Heart container into the Duel Coaster to start your engines!' It boomed.

A loud revving of engines was promptly heard as Zak and Angel made their way down the Stadium.

'3!' Came Mr. Heartland's voice.

Zak and Angel were halfway down the stadium bleachers and were rushing for the field.

'2!' It came again.

They were almost there, just a few more steps to the gate to the field.

'1!' It shouted louder this time.

Zak reached the gate and tried to open it. Locked.

'Heart Burning!' Mr Heartland called out in celebration.

At once, 22 of the 23 finalists' Duel Coasters shot off down the long winding tracks. One stayed put; and Zak guessed that was his Coaster. The loudspeaker of Mr Heartland came on once again.

'What's this? It seems that Yuma Tsukumo's Duel Coaster won't start!' Mr Heartland called.

Him again, Zak thought. But Yuma was a finalist, wasn't he? Then someone shouted out; a girl's voice from the top of the stadium. A dark red haired girl in her twenties called out to Yuma and threw something in his direction. It was a complete Heart Container. Zak was too puzzled by this turn of events to worry about trying to get into the Finals. He and Angel watched on as the Heart Container was caught by a green haired girl; who Zak recognized as Tori, Yuma's friend. Tori leapt over the barrier to the field and raced toward Yuma. As soon as she reached him, she gave him the Heart Container and he instantly shoved it into the starting mechanism for the Duel Coaster. It shot off toward the other Finalists immediately. However, Tori had fallen into the Duel Coaster in her haste and would now be joining Yuma on his journey into the finals.

Zak was awestruck. So much had happened so quickly. But something was still missing. How did all of the finalists take off if they all required a full Heart Container. Surely they'd need to have created a counterfeit one in order to cheat the system. Zak quickly rummaged through his pockets for his Heart Container, but to no avail. Or they could have my one, he thought. He looked to Angel and quickly told her what had happened. She looked back at him in shock.

'So someone took your Heart Pieces?' She shouted over the roar of the crowd.

Zak nodded and gestured for them to left the loudness of the stadium. They walked back up to the top where it was easier to hold a conversation.

'Should we let the organisers know?' Angel asked.

Zak considered the question before finally answering.

'We could, but we'd need to prove it. I don't have the Heart Pieces with me, so I can't show them. And the invitation to the party is in my formal gear,' Zak replied.

Angel looked down; she saw there was nothing they could do. Zak caught on and tried to cheer her up.

'Cheer up Angel and think of it this way; we get to spend more time together,' Zak said with a slight of a smile.

Angel looked up at him with a question on her face.

'Did you just flirt back at me?' She said, raising an eyebrow, 'I thought that the super serious Zak just wouldn't do that.'

Zak gave her a smile and led her out of the stadium.

'It also means more time for Number Hunting,' Zak added.

'I knew you flirting was too good to be true, sweetie,' Angel said, rolling her eyes, but smiling nonetheless.

They strolled from the stadium and away from its roar of the finals. Both were now becoming further and further fatigued from the cold Heartland incident and the surge of haste to get to the stadium from the hospital. Zak and Angel decided to slow down a bit and relax for a while. After a small conversation on what to do next; they decided to head back to Angel's apartment and rest as well as refresh and possibly modify their decks.

They took their time to wander through the streets, each enjoying each other's company. So what if Zak didn't get to the finals; they both knew that he'd succeeded in getting enough Heart Pieces. Not to mention that he had stood his own ground against the all-powerful dreaded mysterious figure. They both deserved a true break after all that had happened. Then both Zak and Angel noticed something somewhat peculiar: a small boy, about age 10, running toward them. Zak jolted when he recognized the boy. It was Tommy; the boy who had used a Red-Eyes deck against Zak a few days back. Tommy had seemed like a well-mannered and fun-loving boy when Zak had duelled against him; but the Tommy Zak saw was angry. Zak stopped and frowned before Angel noticed.

'Know him?' She asked quietly.

'Duelled him. He was happy though,' Zak replied in an equally quiet tone.

Before either could say another word, Tommy had reached them and was glaring at Zak.

'You're mister Zak, aren't you?' Tommy demanded, 'I want to duel you again!'

Zak didn't want to duel; he was exhausted from his last one, but sighed when he noticed something on Tommy's left shoulder.

The symbols for Number 43.


	17. The Overlord

'A Number, sweetie,' Angel whispered.

'Tommy, where did you get a Number?' Zak inquired to the angry boy.

'I don't care where!' Tommy shouted, 'I just got one and I'm going to beat you with it and my Red-Eyes!'

'Why me?'

'Just because!'

Tommy obviously wasn't making a good case for himself and, even though Zak had no want to duel right about now, Tommy had a Number. So there was no choice; Zak knew he had to beat Tommy again for the Number. The first time hadn't been difficult, but Zak still wasn't up to duelling. Facing the mysterious figure in the cold Heartland and then sprinting only to be indirectly kicked out of the finals were not great ways to make Zak want to duel; even if he was now back with Angel in his own timestream.

'Fine,' Zak sighed, 'Let's get this over with.'

Zak began to activate his Duel Disk as Tommy grinned darkly and did the same. Zak felt Angel's hand on his arm and he looked into her eyes. She shook her head and pushed his arm down. Zak knew what she meant. Zak didn't want to put Angel in danger; but she was asking for it and he needed to rest. He nodded and stepped back. Tommy glared at him. Angel then held Tommy's gaze and activated her own Duel Disk.

'You need to go through me first kid,' Angel said in a somewhat bitter tone.

Tommy growled and raised his Duel Disk.

'Fine, I'll beat you first!' He shouted.

[Angel: 4000] [Tommy: 4000]

'I'm going first!' Tommy demanded as he drew his card.

'Was he always like this?' Angel quietly asked Zak.

'He wasn't. He was too shy,' Zak said, shaking his head.

'Any hints?'

'Red-Eyes Black Dragon last time.'

'Umm, thanks sweetie.'

'Hey! Listen to me!' Tommy yelled, 'I use Dark Dragon Ritual! I can use it to Summon Knight of Dark Dragons if I sacrifice a monster with 4 or more Levels from my hand or field! I sacrifice my Red-Eyes Wyvern so I can bring out Knight of Dark Dragons!'

[Knight of Dark Dragons – 1900 ATK – 1200 DEF – DARK Attribute – Warrior-Type – Level 4]

Zak was impressed, Tommy was still using Red-Eyes cards; but he was better. Was it the Number?

'Ha!' Tommy continued in his rage empowered combo, 'I can now sacrifice my Knight to bring out my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand or deck! I bring out the one in my deck! Come out my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!'

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon – 2400 ATK – 2000 DEF – DARK Attribute – Dragon-Type – Level 7]

Angel looked at Zak with raised eyebrows. Zak returned the look and continued to watch Tommy's cards in play. Tommy was definitely better, but Zak knew Angel wasn't about to go down without a fight.

'I'm not done!' Tommy pushed on, 'I summon my Red-Eyes Black Chick! I can sacrifice this one to bring on another Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand! That's two Red-Eyes Black Dragons to beat you up with!'

Zak was beginning to doubt whether or not this duel was going to be as easy as it was for him. Tommy had only one Red-Eyes Black Dragon last time around and had done everything to protect it. But he didn't seem as protective as he had been. He was angrier and destructive. Zak could only guess that the Number was to blame. He looked at Tommy again, and could see that the latter wasn't finished yet.

'Now that I have a Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my side,' Tommy roared, 'I can use this: Inferno Fire Blast. It means that one of my Red-Eyes Black Dragons can attack you directly!'

[Angel: 1600]

Zak realised that Tommy had pulled the same move on him on his first turn during their duel. It was a good combo and had Tommy used another Inferno Fire Blast: he would have won. Then Zak noticed something that wasn't good for Angel. Two Red-Eyes Black Dragons: two Level 7 Red-Eyes Black Dragons. Was the Number really coming out this fast? He saw that Angel had noticed too, and she wasn't pleased about it.

'I'm going to beat you and then I'm going to beat him!' Tommy shouted at Angel, 'I'm overlaying my two dragons to build the Overlay Network! I call out my Number! Say hello to Number 43: Red-Eyes Overlord Dragon!'

[Number 43: Red-Eyes Overlord Dragon – 2800 ATK – 2400 DEF – DARK Attribute – Dragon-Type – Rank 7]

'And I now use its special ability!' Tommy raged on, 'I can use an Overlay Unit and summon a Red-Eyes monster from my deck straight to the field. And it can ignore any special summoning conditions on the monster! But it can't attack during this turn, and neither can my Number! But I don't care; so I use an Overlay Unit and bring out Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon!'

[Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon – 2800 ATK – 2400 DEF – DARK Attribute – Machine-Type – Level 8]

Zak and Angel were in awe now, not only had Tommy Special Summoned two Red-Eyes Black Dragons on the first turn; but had also reduced Angel's Life Points to a mere 1600; Xyz Summoned his powerful Number 43 and then brought out an old but powerful monster from Yugi's times. Tommy had stepped up his game a huge deal and Zak was worried for Angel. This was not the Tommy he'd faced, this was a different Tommy; one possessed by a powerful and evil Number.

'I'm done now, it's your turn. So make it quick,' Tommy snapped.

Tommy had played an excellent first turn. He'd more than halved Angel's Life Points and now stood with two powerful monsters both bearing 2800 Attack Points each. Not to mention that he hadn't even attacked and still had one Overlay Unit remaining on his Number 43. Zak knew that if Angel didn't defend herself during her turn, then Tommy would surely beat her during his next turn. Angel looked at Zak for help, and so he smiled and nodded in response. He knew that she could beat the darkened boy.

And hopefully she knew it too.


	18. The Master

Angel drew her card while maintaining Tommy's dark gaze. With his destructive first turn and small army of powerful beasts, there wasn't much that she could do against him in the way of fighting back. Angel decided on a more of a defensive strategy until she could destroy his Number and Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon. She looked at her hand and saw at least a reasonable defence that would help her to survive Tommy's next turn.

'Alright Tommy! Here I go!' Angel began, 'I'm activating Terraforming so I can add a Field Spell to my hand! I choose Sanctuary in the Sky and activate it immediately!'

The deserted streets of Heartland instantly dissolved into the castle above the clouds. Now Angel would take no battle damage as long as she had a Fairy-Type monster on the field.

'For my next play,' Angel continued, 'I discard Hecatrice from my hand to add Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen to my hand! I'll activate that right away too. And now with that on my field, I can Special Summon a Fairy-Type monster from my hand! Come on out Gellenduo; in defence mode! Now that that's out, I end my turn there!'

'Ha!' Tommy began to laugh, 'That's all; a weak monster to defend you?' I'm going to beat you so fast now! Then I'm going to beat Zak! So first I'm using the ability of my Number! I use its other Overlay Unit and Special Summon another Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon to my field! But neither of these two can attack. So I get my first Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon to attack your silly fairy!'

The shiny black dragon did as it was commanded and lunged for Angel's Gellenduo and slashed it into two. But the latter then reformed and stayed put. Angel looked at Tommy with an amused expression.

'Gellenduo can't be destroyed by battle,' Angel simply stated.

'Fine, I end my turn then,' Tommy growled, 'And because I didn't summon a monster normally, I can use the ability of my Red-Eyes Wyvern in my graveyard! By removing it from the game; I can bring out another Red-Eyes monster from my graveyard. I bring back my first Red-Eyes Black Dragon!'

Angel's drew her card which was, in fact, Mirror Force. She played it facedown and ended her turn quickly. Angel waited for Tommy to continue with his offence. That was it, Angel thought. She had finally seen into where his strategy was at its weakest; there was no defence and it was all based around the power of his Red-Eyes cards. If they were gone; then so was he! She smiled slightly and waited for Tommy to fall into her trap.

'You think I'm going to let you beat me?' Tommy yelled, 'No! I use Heavy Storm! Now all spell and traps cards are gone!'

Angel's Sanctuary in the Sky along with her Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen and her facedown Mirror Force were all destroyed. Tommy was not playing around and Angel guessed that Heavy Storm was his defence against an opponent's defence. Tommy ended his turn while glaring at Angel. She drew her card and hoped for the best; Gellenduo wasn't going to save her for much longer. She was overjoyed to see what she had drawn: Victoria! That; combined with the Master Hyperion and Celestial Transformation in her hand was enough to deal some major damage.

'Alright Tommy, you wanna play around?' Angel started in a playful voice, 'Then check out this; I sacrifice my Gellenduo to advance summon Master Hyperion!'

[Master Hyperion – 2700 ATK – 2100 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Fairy-Type – Level 8]

'You see,' Angel continued, 'Gellenduo can be used as two tributes to summon a higher level Fairy-Type monster; like Master Hyperion. But if you think I'm done there; then you just wait. I activate Celestial Transformation! This lets me Special Summon a Fairy-Type monster straight to the field, but its attack is halved and it's destroyed at the end of my turn. I use it to Special Summon Victoria!'

'Why would you bring out such weak monsters?' Tommy snorted, 'Neither of them can hurt me.'

'But their effects can,' Angel said with a grin, 'I first use the effect of Master Hyperion: by banishing a Fairy-Type monster from my graveyard; I can destroy one card on the field! I banish my Hecatrice so I can take out your Number! Go Master Hyperion!'

Master Hyperion drew in light from Hecatrice in the graveyard and promptly shot off a burst of light at the roaring Number 43. The great dark dragon exploded as Tommy screamed in anger at Angel. Angel looked at him silently and continued her plan.

'I now use the effect of Victoria,' Angel added, 'Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Dragon-Type monster from your graveyard straight to my field. You know exactly what card I'm choosing; your Number 43: Red-Eyes Overlord Dragon!'

Victoria shot off her own burst of light, but this time it was directed at the graveyard. The devastating Number rose from below the ground and landed behind Angel. At once Angel felt the power of the Number torrent through her. But this time it was different, it was stronger than and twice as chaotic as other Numbers she had felt. She panicked and looked about. She caught Zak's eye and looked at him for help. Zak's eyes widened when he realised what was happening.

'Come on Angel!' Zak shouted, 'You can fight it, just think of everything we've been through. Focus!'

Angel tried to calm herself down and she focused. She thought about her duels with Zak and the time they'd spent together. She smiled as she felt the dark power dim down to nothing. Looks like hanging out with an antisocial Number Hunter had done her good, she thought.

'Don't worry sweetie; I got this,' Angel said, winking at Zak, 'Alright Master Hyperion, attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon!'

[Tommy: 3700]

'And now,' Angel said powerfully, 'Number 43! Attack one of his Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragons!'

'But they've got the same attack power!' Tommy blurted out, 'They'll both be destroyed!'

'Not Number 43! Did you forget that Numbers can't be destroyed by battle except with another Number?' Angel replied sharply.

Tommy grunted as his first Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon was destroyed by the card that had brought it out.

'With that, I end my turn. And so Victoria is destroyed,' Angel concluded.

Zak was impressed; Angel had taken Tommy's Number and resisted its influence as well as lower Tommy down to one monster left. She stood a better chance now and Zak was positive that she was going to win.

Tommy drew and looked at his card. With a small grin, he activated it.

'I use Axe of Despair on my Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon!' Tommy snapped, 'Now it gets 1000 points stronger! So I use it to attack your Master Hyperion!'

The razor sharp claws of Tommy's only monster tore through Master Hyperion like butter.

[Angel: 500]

'One more attack and I win!' Tommy roared, 'I play one card facedown and end my turn!'

Angel knew that he was right, but she wasn't about to give in. She drew her card with a little more force than she usually did and smiled at it. It was Monster Reborn, and she was about to use it to win.

'I bring back Master Hyperion from my graveyard with Monster Reborn!' Angel called out triumphantly, 'Now I use his effect again and, by banishing Gellenduo, I can destroy your last dragon!'

The burst of light from Master Hyperion was blinding as it obliterated the last Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon. But Tommy wasn't having it.

'I use Red-Eyes Spirit!' Tommy shouted back, 'If a Red-Eyes monster I have is destroyed, then this card brings it straight back!'

'Fine,' Angel replied, 'Then I use Number 43 to attack it. And don't forget that your Axe of Despair is gone; so your Red-Eyes is destroyed! And finally, Master Hyperion can attack you directly!'

[Tommy: 1000]

'That's it from me,' Angel finished, turning to Zak, 'What do you think sweetie?'

'Must you really ask?' Zak replied shortly.

Tommy drew his card and glared daggers at Angel; the Number still possessing him even while under Angel's control. Tommy knew he was finished, but he didn't want to admit it. He played a monster facedown and ended his turn without a word. Angel knew that this was the end of the line for him and silently directly Number 43 to attack the monster. It was Red-Eyes Wyvern and it stood no chance.

'Master Hyperion: end this,' Angel said in a normal voice.

[Tommy: 0] [Winner: Angel]


	19. The Puzzle

Zak was as quick as a flash in sending out the Photon Gauntlet into Tommy as the duel ended. After the initial shock, both he and Angel ran over to where the young boy lay. Angel removed the Number 43 card from Tommy's deck while Zak sat him up. Tommy was in a complete daze from the duel and the Photon Gauntlet. Then he weakly muttered something.

'Z-Zero… coming… soon…' Tommy murmured, 'Five thirteens…'

Zak looked up at Angel in concern; Number Zero was already affecting their timestream. She wasn't all too pleased to hear it either. Zak gave Tommy a little shake so he would come to his senses. Tommy shook his head and looked up with the clarity of not being possessed by a Number. Zak was relieved to see it.

'You okay now?' Zak asked gently.

'What? What happened?' Tommy asked.

'You were possessed by a Number card,' Angel explained, 'You were angry and wanted to duel Zak.'

'Did I win?'

Zak couldn't help but give a small chuckle when he heard that. After all of the darkness that had flooded through Tommy; his first question was to whether or not he'd beaten someone he hadn't even faced. Angel looked at Zak and rolled her eyes.

'No, you duelled me,' Angel continued, 'And I won.'

'So, I got beaten by a girl?' Tommy questioned.

He stood up and looked through his deck.

'Where's the Number thing?' Tommy asked.

'We took it away since it was making you evil,' Zak said after a moment.

'Aww, okay,' Tommy replied.

'Hey Tommy,' Angel said, kneeling down to face him, 'You nearly beat me with your Red-Eyes cards though. You were really good.'

'You really mean it?!' Tommy's eyes lit up.

'Yes I do. You are a great duelist.'

Tommy looked to Zak for confirmation and so the latter nodded and smiled. Tommy was overjoyed to hear it and he promptly ran off shouting it out at the top of his lungs.

'I'm a great duelist!' Zak and Angel heard in the distance.

After that duel, Angel now felt as tired as Zak did after his duel with the mysterious figure. Both were eager to get home and rest and so they kept up their walk to Angel's apartment. A little over three days of non-stop duelling and life threatening situations was enough to make most people want a bit of a break. Zak and Angel were no different and a day-off felt like a wonderful dream to them. And so they strolled through the streets of Heartland once again. It wasn't for ten minutes until Zak finally broke the silence.

'So how many Numbers does this bring us to?' Zak asked, 'How many do you have?'

'I think I have six now,' Angel said.

She stopped and went through her extra deck, counting each Number she possessed.

'Definitely six,' Angel said as she began walking again.

'Brilliant,' Zak stated, 'That brings our total to 14 since I have 8 and also my Chaos Number.'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah, you and your Chaos Number,' Angel complained, 'When do I get my one?'

'I have absolutely no idea,' Zak grinned, 'Actually, when did you get your Master Hyperion? Isn't he harder to find than most cards?'

'Indeed he is sweetie. How about this, you tell me how to get a Chaos Number and I'll tell you how to get Master Hyperion'

Zak laughed and walked on with Angel rolling her eyes next to him. Zak was happy he'd met her; she'd proved to be a valuable companion and duelist.

'So what're we doing when we get back to mine, Zakky?' Angel inquired, changing the subject.

'Well, not sure about you, but I would love to sleep,' Zak replied.

'I couldn't agree more,' Angel said, taking a deep breath.

They continued to walk through the streets toward their destination. There was no rush and no pressure now. Number hunting could continue tomorrow; after a rest and a relax. But even with the Numbers posing less of a threat to Zak and Angel now; there was still one which kept bugging at Zak's mind. Number Zero; Zak felt that there were still a few pieces missing. He'd heard about Number Zero from the mysterious figure and now Tommy; but there was still a nagging thought at the back of his head saying that something about the whole thing just wasn't right.

Currently, Zak was interested in what Tommy had said in his daze: 'Five thirteens.' It didn't take too long for Zak to realise that it meant the summoning conditions of Number Zero. Or at least, that's what he thought. But how would anyone summon five level thirteen monsters; let alone one? Surely it must be cheating to summon a Level 13 monster; or five. It was something Zak was going to ponder tonight.

The duo had reached the apartment complex now and had begun to ascend in the elevator to floor eighty like last time. Angel led Zak to her room and unlocked the door. Zak remembered he still had the key that Angel had given him. After turning on the lights and throwing her duel disk on her bed; Angel gestured for Zak to make himself at home while she went to the bathroom. Zak removed his hoodie and duel disk and put them on the nearby table. Angel came into the lounge room shortly afterward.

'Our formal stuff is hanging in my closet, sweetie,' Angel said innocently, 'No idea how it got here.'

Zak had forgotten about it up until now. After they'd entered the cold Heartland from the party last night; their formal clothes had changed into their street clothes and duel disks. After they'd left the dreaded timestream, they were still in their duelling getup; leaving the location of the formal clothing a mystery. But it was safe now and how it got here was the next mystery. But Zak was too tired to care about it.

'Wanna watch the finals for a bit?' Angel asked casually.

'Sure thing, lead the way,' Zak replied with a yawn.

Angel had a large TV in front of her bed which was great for the duo; if they got too tired, then sleep was just a nod of the head away. Angel and Zak sat against the wall on her bed and Angel turned on the television. The finals were shown with all close ups and two of the eight remaining duelists were about to go for a one on one match. This duel was to be between one of the administrators, Droite, and that creepy boy from the night, Tron.

Zak was intrigued by Tron and was eager to see what deck he used; but as soon as the duel began, the screen when blank. Mr Heartland's voice came on asking the technicians to fix the screen as fast as possible.

'Angel,' Zak said to the sleepy Angel, 'Duel's broken.'

'Okay sweetie,' Angel replied, already half asleep, 'Have fun.'

After a long yawn, Angel had already laid down and was almost asleep. Zak looked once again at the TV; the duel was still cut off. Zak himself yawned too and was out like a light in a matter of moments shortly afterwards.


	20. The Nightmare

Zak opened his eyes and looked around. This wasn't Angel's apartment and this certainly wasn't anywhere close. But it was familiar and, after a few drowsy moments, he recognized himself to be just outside of the place where Mr Heartland had held the party for the finalists. But why was he here? And where was Angel? Zak couldn't remember, and he still felt drowsy. He looked around, and the drowsiness soon left him when he realised what had happened.

It was cold.

Zak's blood soon felt as cold as where he was: the cold Heartland. But how did he get here again? He didn't remember anything past falling asleep at Angel's place the night before. The blue haze and feeling of darkness were stronger now and far more piercing. Zak saw that both his deck and duel disk had been equipped to him. He was confused on all accounts. How he had gotten back to the cold Heartland was his main question. But he couldn't answer it, he had no idea how to.

Zak finally decided to look around and try to leave the cold Heartland. He checked for the Barrier Light gem that was usually around his neck; it was his key to escape. But it wasn't there. Zak grunted in annoyance; unless he found the mysterious figure or another Barrier Light, then he could now escape the cold Heartland. He sighed and decided to look for someone that could help him. He set off towards the hospital since that's usually where he'd go when he needed help. He picked himself up and set off toward the hospital.

The cold Heartland was as cold as it had been the first time Zak was here. He didn't find it as menacing or unsettling as he had done last time either. But Number Zero's influential darkness was stronger. It flooded the cold Heartland and stole into alleyways, always searching for a new victim to entice. But Zak wasn't having any of it. While Number Thirteen did afford him some protection from the shadows; it wasn't a huge defence against them. Number Zero seemed to have grown stronger in his absence and it was welcoming Zak back with its menace.

But for Zak, he just wanted to find Angel and get out of the cold Heartland. Dealing with Number Zero would have to wait until he was truly prepared. He didn't know its effects or capabilities and he still wasn't sure if it really did need five Level thirteen monsters to summon. For a super powerful and incredibly evil card bent on destroying Zak's timestream; it really did keep to itself. But Zak still felt that there was something missing: a piece or pieces of the puzzle which he was still no closer to solving

Zak looked up to see the Heartland hospital in the distance. He hoped that there was something there that could help him find Angel and leave this dreadful timestream. He picked up the pace and began to rush. Any less time it took to have a chance at leaving was a blessing to Zak. But someone spoke loudly. Zak strained his ears and frowned when he heard it. He didn't hear what had been said; but the voice had been cruel and dangerous. And familiar. Then it sounded again.

'I overlay my five Level thirteen monsters and Xyz Summon! Descend; the ruler of absolute darkness: Number Zero!' Came the deadly voice.

Then Zak saw it; a huge figure taller than Heartland's own hospital. It was shrouded in darkness and had huge glowing red eyes which pierced right into Zak's soul. In the figure's left hand was a huge buster sword that was as sharp as humanly possible. Zak couldn't make out many features of the monster due to it being covered in shadows; but he could tell what it was. Number Zero had arrived, or so he thought. Zak stood for a few moment's at the bottom of the hospital in awe; just looking at the terror filled creature. He couldn't believe that he'd need to face it Number Zero now and alone. He'd had no chance to prepare and he didn't even have his duel disk activated.

There was no time to stand there and wait for Number Zero to crush him and his timestream, and so Zak rushed into the hospital elevator as fast as he could. He reached the top if a few long minutes of anxiety and activated his duel disk promptly. Zak rushed through the elevator doors and looked for his opponent. But there was no one in sight. Zak looked up at Number Zero once again; it now being twice the size it was when he first laid eyes on it and its huge buster sword now being the full size of Heartland Tower. Zak was afraid of Number Zero; very afraid of it. Zak was paralysed in place for a few moments by the sheer darkness that emanated from the very creature he sought to destroy. He eventually found his will and decided on a plan of action.

It wasn't much, but summoning Number Thirteen on his duel disk was better than standing there and waiting for the end, Zak thought. Number Thirteen appeared in front of Zak and roared at Number Zero. The latter didn't seem to even take notice. Darkshine Dragon covered itself in its signature silver flame and flew head on toward what seemed to be Number Zero's skull. But this time, Number Zero had taken notice and slashed Number Thirteen in two with its buster sword in less than an instant. Zak jumped back in shock when he saw the sheer speed of the creature.

Zak looked down at his duel disk and was horrified to see that Number Thirteen's card was now blank. Number Zero had now caused the sky to go red and the haze then followed suit. It was colder now and almost freezing. Zak returned Number Thirteen to his pocket and considered his next plan of attack. He couldn't not do anything about it and so he pestered his mind for an idea. All that came to him was to summon more Numbers in an effort to overpower the giant master in front of. As quick as a flash; Zak had opened his extra deck and had five more Number monsters in Monster card zones.

Out came Number 50: Black Corn; Number 62: Sound-Breaking Cannon; Number 93: Desolate; Number 48: Grievance Djinn and Number 91: Thunder Spark Dragon all ready to fight for Zak's cause. They all launched their separate attacks against the ultimate Number while Zak watched on in hope. Each Number's attack collided with Number Zero, but to no avail. Neither a scratch nor dent was left on the giant monstrosity. Then, with a few lightning fast slashes of its great sword; each Number that Zak had summoned had been cleaved into pieces. And each card on Zak's duel disk was now black. Zak was clueless as to defeat the monster.

Then the cruel voice sounded again, 'Zero! Finish him!'

The giant darkness raised the giant sword above its head and glared directly at Zak. Zak looked back in absolute fear. Was this the end?

The giant sword began to come down toward Zak; and the latter looked around for something, anything that could save him. There was nothing.

The buster sword was almost at Zak now and still going at a devastating speed. Zak was paralysed in place now and felt that his legs no longer obeyed him. He panicked and tried to move; but it just wouldn't happen.

Then there was contact and Zak saw nothing but black.


	21. The Resolve

Zak jolted awake, covered in sweat and breathing deeply. His mind was a rush and in a state of absolute confusion.

'What the hell?' He said aloud.

He quickly did a spot check of himself and soon realised that the whole deal in the cold Heartland just them had been a nightmare. He sighed loudly and began to breathe normally; Number Zero hadn't killed him. However, his upstart had woken Angel from her slumber. She rose up and looked at Zak in a half asleep gaze. Zak was still shaken from the nightmare.

'Sweetie, what's up?' Angel asked sleepily.

'Nightmare. Number Zero,' Zak muttered.

Angel was tired, but upon mention of Number Zero, she did her best to focus. It was a serious issue after all.

'Whoa, what? What happened?' Angel asked, trying to concentrate.

Zak took a few deep breaths and looked out the window to his right. It was about midnight by now and he was beginning to calm down.

'I was back in the other timestream,' Zak said slowly, 'You weren't there and neither was anybody else.'

'So what happened to you?' Angel asked calmly.

'I wanted to get out of there but I didn't have the Barrier Light, so I couldn't escape,' Zak continued, remembering the events, 'So I went to the hospital to find anyone that could help. Then some guy called out something about overlaying five level thirteens and summoning Number Zero.'

'Five level thirteens?' Angel said, her eyes widening, 'Is that was Tommy meant?'

Zak nodded, 'I think so.'

'But how do you summon five level thirteen monsters? Let alone one?'

'I'm not sure, but it isn't making me feel any better. But there was Number Zero. I tried to summon all my Numbers against it and beat it with them; but it destroyed them so easily. Even Thirteen.'

'Then what?'

'Then he killed me.'

Angel sat back when she heard Zak's recount of events. She mused over what had been said and nodded before looking back at Zak.

'We can't do anything about it now sweetie, so we should try to get back to sleep,' Angel said with a smile, 'We can figure it all out tomorrow okay?'

Zak sighed and smiled at her. She was right, he thought. After taking one last deep breath to cool down; Zak laid back and closed his eyes. He then felt Angel wrap her arm around his chest and pull herself up to him.

'Don't worry sweetie; I'll protect you,' Angel said innocently.

Zak smiled again and put his arm around her to pull her in closer. It was nice having her cuddle up to him like this. It was definitely a big change from having Number Zero crush him with its huge sword at least. In a few moments, both Zak and Angel finally fell soundly asleep in each other's arms.

While falling asleep may have been easy; waking up for two teenagers was a whole different story. Neither wanted move out of the bed until midday and neither complained at all; as was the life of a teenager. However, after finally giving into the sun's radiance penetrating the room; Zak and Angel finally stirred from the best sleep they'd had in days. Both yawned and stretched off the last few days' pressures.

'Morning sweetie,' Angel said in her playful voice.

'Hey there,' Zak replied in a yawn.

Both knew that they needed to talk about Zak's nightmare from the night before; but neither was willing to begin the conversation. After a few awkward moments, Angel broke the silence by asking Zak if he was hungry. Zak nodded at once. He hadn't realised just how famished he'd become over the past few days of adventuring and Number Hunting. Angel led him through the lounge into a small kitchen opposite the bedroom. Angel began to set up some bread in the toaster while Zak watched on in silence.

'Good sleep?' Zak asked, trying to make conversation.

'You know it,' Angel said with a wink.

The toast popped and Angel asked Zak what he'd like on it. They both went for strawberry jam in the end. After bringing the toast and jam to the table in the lounge and pouring each of them a glass of juice, Angel gestured for Zak to sit. She did the same and they tucked into their breakfast of sorts. Zak decided to break the ice and talk about taking down Number Zero.

'So what are we going to do?' Zak asked blatantly.

Angel knew exactly what he was talking about, but she wasn't all too happy to return the conversation. However, she knew that it was a major disaster that they needed to prevent and so she returned the question with her own.

'What can we do?' Angel said in a normal tone.

Zak hadn't thought about that actually. He'd just assumed that it'd be as simple as getting back to the cold Heartland and beating Number Zero. He didn't even know where exactly Number Zero was. He decided to at least pool the information they had together to figure out what to do against the oncoming threat of the ultimate Number.

'Well, what do we know about it?' Zak said thoughtfully.

'We know that it needs its own timestream to be captured in and it's super evil and possessive,' Angel replied with a small hint of sarcasm.

'Right. And it requires five level thirteen monsters to summon. At least we think so,' Zak said, ignoring the sarcasm.

'But how can anyone summon even one level thirteen monster?' Angel blurted out, 'The only thing that comes close is that Greed Quasar that can absorb levels!'

Zak was silent when he remembered the Greed Quasar. It was another piece in the puzzle, but it was all beginning to come together.

'Good point, but how would someone get five?' Zak asked.

Angel shrugged, 'Maybe use a card to change all levels to thirteen or something? I don't know.'

Then Zak's blood ran cold when he realised the final piece of the puzzle. A card that could change monster's levels to that of Greed Quasar when it was Level 13. A card like Galaxy Queen's Light.

'Galaxy Queen's Light,' Zak repeated aloud.

'What? Oh, right, yeah. Like that,' Angel said.

Then the magnitude of what Zak had said sunk in.

'Oh my god,' Angel said, now completely understanding, 'But; that's not possible.'

'The mysterious guy,' Zak said confidently, 'He has both Greed Quasar and Galaxy Queen's Light. He has both the means and capabilities to summon Number Zero.'

'So Number Zero is going to possess him then!' Angel exclaimed.

'More than likely, and that won't be good news for anyone. You've seen what he's like in duelling. So if Number Zero possesses him and uses his deck; then there's no stopping him.'

'Well we gotta go save him then!' Angel said, standing up, 'And save everyone else for that matter!'

Zak had finished his toast by now and stood up too while nodding to Angel. The duo knew that their destination was the Heartland hospital, for the portal back to the cold Heartland. The mysterious figure was most likely going to be there. Zak and Angel rushed to get their necessary gear as fast as possible; there was not a second to be wasted. Zak grabbed his hoodie, mask and duel disk. He then made sure that he had the Barrier Light around his neck and his deck in his case. He then checked his Number cards. To his relief; none were blank.

Angel was already set to go and was waiting for Zak at the door. She gestured to him in a hurried manner. Zak looked around the room quickly to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. After he was satisfied, he rushed out the door and Angel locked it behind him. They were about to head for the elevator when someone peculiar caught the corner of Zak's eye. It was the door down at the end of the hallway. It had just rippled. Zak grabbed Angel's hand and pointed to the door.

'We're taking a shortcut,' Zak explained as they ran to the far door.

As soon as they were within a few steps of it, Zak took the Barrier Light from around his neck and held it up to the rippling door. A red flash then enveloped the duo and took them from their timestream.


	22. The Army

The cold was instant as Zak and Angel were thrust into the other timestream with a thud. Their duel disks had been equipped to them and the blue haze was all around. Zak let out a deep breath; he wasn't too happy to be back in the cold Heartland, but it was more than necessary. They had a job to do: a city to save and two timestreams to protect. There was no time to lose. They needed to find the mysterious figure and warn him about the impending threat of Number Zero. Despite the trouble he'd caused both Zak and Angel in the past; he felt like their responsibility. They also didn't want the world to be destroyed by Number Zero.

And even with Number Zero being a threat; its darkness flooding the timestream was at a new height. It was almost choking Zak and Angel. Their only defence was their won darkness; their own Numbers. It may not have been much to rely on considering the Numbers' relation to Number Zero. They were its subordinates; but the ones behind Zak and Angel seemed to follow them rather than their master. Numbers were strange cards and strange monsters; they didn't like being controlled, but would follow their master to the end if need be. As for Zak and Angel; they weren't complaining.

Zak and Angel rushed down the elevator of Angel's apartment complex in the cold Heartland. The hospital was a fair run away; but they were both up to the challenge if it meant saving the world. The elevator descended at the usual speed of Heartland technology and both Zak and Angel burst from the doors and out of the apartment complex. They raced down the street, ignoring the stares of the silent citizens as they did. There was something a tad off about them though. They weren't staring at Zak and Angel in wonder. They were staring at them in rage; and their glowing red eyes were proof of that. Zak jolted when he realised what was happening.

'Angel!' Zak called out to his partner in crime, 'They're all duel ghosts!'

'What? How the hell?' Angel replied with a hint of terror, 'What do we do?'

'Run! Run as fast as possible!'

The duel ghosts were all glaring at the racing duo now and were beginning to give chase. Zak had no idea what they'd do if the ghost army caught them. The rising terror in both him and Angel gave birth to a surge of adrenaline which allowed them to run faster and longer. They burst down the streets and through the alleyways; but the hospital was still a way away. Zak glanced behind him for a second and was horrified to see two particular duel ghosts gaining on them.

KiteZERO and AngelZERO were closing in.

Zak felt his duel disk activate and heard Angel's do the same. Angel gave a small cry of annoyance when she saw the two duel ghosts rushing behind them. As it looked; Zak and Angel would have to tag duel against both ghosts while trying to get to the hospital. Zak felt himself slow down a bit while the adrenaline wore off. It seemed that the duel ghosts were only interested in duelling and not anything more sinister.

The two duel ghosts caught up with the slower Zak and Angel and faced them off. Zak was panting as was Angel by now. The two looked at each other and made the split second decision of having to face off the two duel ghosts. They drew their cards and the duel ghosts did the same.

[Angel: 2000] [AngelZERO: 2000] [Zak: 2000] [KiteZERO: 2000]

Zak was confused, but not for the first time today. Why were the Life Points set to 2000 for each duelist, he wondered. Then something disheartening happened. More and more duel ghosts came into the field and even joined the duel. Three more opponents made themselves known.

[YumaZERO: 2000] [SharkZERO: 2000] [IVZERO: 2000]

'Uh, sweetie?' Angel asked softly, trying to control her fear, 'Now what?'

'I think we have no choice but to duel,' Zak answered in equal fear, 'And hope for the best.'

Angel nodded and stole the first turn. She was a little too overwhelmed to speak and so played her move in silence. Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen was her first play and out came Athena quickly. Angel then activated Dark World Dealings to make every duelist draw a card and then discard another. The simultaneous sounds drawing of a card then discarding one from each of the five duel ghosts was unsettling to say the least. Angel drew and discarded Angel O7 to the graveyard. She then summoned Gellenduo in attack position and Athena's effect instantly activated: damaging all of her opponents for 600 points of damage each.

[YumaZERO: 1400] [SharkZERO: 1400] [IVZERO: 1400] [AngelZERO: 1400] [KiteZERO: 1400] [Zak: 1400]

'Sorry sweetie,' Angel apologized.

The red eyes on each of the silent duel ghosts only grew brighter. Angel shivered as she used Athena's second effect to sacrifice Gellenduo to bring back Angel O7. Angel O7 rose to the field and its special ability prevented Athena from activating her own. But Angel didn't worry about it and so proceeded to overlay her two monsters to summon her Number. Number 88: Goddess of Light took straight to the field in attack position as Angel played a facedown and ended her turn.

'Okay, sweetie,' Angel said nervously, 'That should do.'

Shark's duel ghost instantly began its turn and drew. He activated Shark Lair from his hand and discarded Needle Sunfish for its effect. Shark Lair's effect was by discarding a Fish-Type monster from his hand; all opponents' monsters with less attack could not attack. However, Needle Sunfish had only 500 while Angel's Number 88 had 2200. But Needle Sunfish had its own ability. When it was sent to the graveyard; one opponent's monster would lose 500 Attack points. Number 88: Goddess of Light was instantly weakened to 1700. But it was still a Number and that would protect it, Angel thought.

Shark's duel ghost activated another spell card from its hand; this one being Surface. That allowed him to Special Summon one Level three or lower Fish-Type monster in defence mode. Out came Needle Sunfish straight to the field. However, it was then joined by Shark Stickers by the latter's own Special Summoning effect. SharkZERO now had two level three monsters on the field. But it wasn't done there. It continued and summoned Spear Shark.

Spear Shark could increase the levels of all Fish-Type monsters SharkZERO had out at the time of its summoning. Therefore, both Needle Sunfish and Shark Stickers became Level four; just like Spear Shark. Shark's duel ghost then overlayed his three Level four monsters and Xyz Summoned with them. Zak was not happy to see the end result.

[Number 32: Shark Drake – 2800 ATK – 2100 DEF – Sea Serpent-Type – WATER Attribute – Rank 4]

Angel, too, was less than stellar to see a Number facing them down this quickly. SharkZERO's eyes then glowed once more as it activated the final spell card in its hand: Aqua Jet. Now a Fish, Sea Serpent or Aqua-Type monster would gain 1000 Attack Points and there was only one choice. Due to the way the duel ghost had played its cards; if it attacked Angel: it would be over for her already.


	23. The Onslaught

Then Zak realised: no duelist could attack on their first turn due to the Battle Royal rules. He gave a sigh of relief when he realised that Angel was safe. But that relief was short lived when they both heard a deep voice sounding in their minds. It came from all duel ghosts.

'The Master wants you two gone,' The voice came with a threat, 'The rules have changed. 2000 Life Points each. Any duelist may attack a player that has already had their turn. You will lose.'

Zak's heart began to throb once again; Number Zero was controlling all of the duel ghosts and had even changed the rules of duelling in its own favour. The biased rules meant that SharkZERO could attack Angel regardless of it being its first turn. And due to all duelists having only 2000 Life Points to begin with; the duel was meant to be over quickly. Number Zero was sending an army of duel ghosts to subdue them and it was not giving them the benefit of fairness. Zak mentally kicked himself when he realised that both he and Angel had been led into a trap. He heard Angel grimace at the turn of the tides.

But the duel ghosts were heartless and unrelenting. SharkZERO then made perfect proof of that when it directed its Number 32 to attack Angel's weakened Number 88. But then Angel smiled and Zak was intrigued. Angel quickly discarded a card from her hand to her graveyard and watched the resulting battle.

It had been Honest.

And it had turned the tides back into her favour. Now Number 88, being a LIGHT Attribute monster, would gain attack points equal to the monster it was battling: meaning its Attack Points rose to a demanding 5500. This was more than enough to destroy the duel ghost's Number 32, and the rest of its Life Points. Number 32's attack was stopped short by the shining Goddess as it released its own surge of radiance in return. Number 32 was destroyed instantly; and the remaining 1700 points of damage found their mark on SharkZERO's Life Points.

[SharkZERO: 0]

The duel ghost let out a shrieking roar of sorts before fading into darkness as its Life Points descended to the end. Zak was impressed; but not entirely relieved. There were still four remaining duel ghosts all wanting to take Zak and Angel apart. They were cornered in an alleyway and had no chance of escaping until the duel was over until all duel ghosts attacking them had been defeated. Number Zero's plan was strong, but Zak had the small feeling that he and Angel were stronger. Angel had already taken down one of the relentless duel ghosts; so now it was Zak's turn and he drew with force. Zak watched as the effect of Honest wore off Number 88 and its attack returned to 1700.

He realised that he couldn't attack anyone except Angel during this turn due to the modified rulings of Number Zero, but he was focused on creating a defence and thinking of an offence for later on. He looked through his hand and gave a confident smile when he saw the perfect strategy. It looked like Number Thirteen got to come out and play after all.

Zak Special Summoned his Photon Thrasher straight to the field in attack mode and then summoned Goblindbergh. Due to the effect of Goblidbergh; Zak could Special Summon another Level four or less monster straight from his hand to the field and Goblindbergh would switch itself to defence position. Zak chose the Summoner Monk residing in his hand and Special Summoned it instantly. That was three Level four monsters, Zak thought. But he needed one more, and so he activated the effect of Summoner Monk; by discarding a spell card in his hand: he could Special Summon another Level four monster from his deck. Zak discarded Pot of Avarice and Special Summoned his Destiny Hero – Defender.

That was all four Level four monsters he needed. Zak then glared at the four remaining duel ghosts as he overlayed his Destiny Hero – Defender and his Photon Thrasher: out came Number 50: Black Corn. The ghosts made no movement nor showed even a hint of surprise; but Zak wasn't finished. He then overlayed his remaining two Level four monsters and Xyz Summoned Gem-Knight Pearl. The duel ghosts still showed no emotion, as they never did. Then Zak grinned at Angel, who smiled in return, as he overlayed his two Rank 4 monsters.

'I overlay Gem-Knight Pearl and Number 50: Black Corn to build the Overlay Network!' Zak called out, deciding to speak up, 'I Extend Xyz Summon! Come forth: the darkened light! Number Thirteen: Darkshine Dragon!'

The chaotic creature burst from the building above them and roared in fury as it and its six overlay units flew around Zak. Zak noticed that Number Thirteen was a little darker than usual and Zak deduced that Number Zero was trying to influence it. However, due the amount of angry roaring heard from his true Number: Zak guessed that Thirteen wasn't accepting it. Zak felt more confident against the situation he and Angel were in now that he had his ace card out. He looked at his hand and set his two remaining trap hands before ending his.

Kite's duel ghost was up next; and there were no less than three duel ghosts having their turns after it. Zak grunted and just hoped that his and Angel's cards would allow them to survive 'til their next turns. He looked at Angel and nodded with a mask of confidence. Angel smiled at him and nodded in return. Zak knew that they had a good defence; but he knew the playing style of three of the four duel ghosts, and their playing styles did consist of great offences. And as for IV's duel ghost, considering IV was a champion, there was no doubt that it was also going to live up the hype.

But Thirteen was ready, Zak felt. It wanted the duel ghosts to come at it. It wanted to prove to Number Zero that it was no ordinary Number. Somehow, Zak knew that Angel's Number 88 was giving her the same feeling. Two defiant Numbers on their side was something, at least, against the master of Numbers: Number Zero. But Zak's train of thought was then broken by Kite's duel ghost Special Summoning its Photon Sabre Tiger to the field. Photon Sabre Tiger had 2000, but this was reduced by 800 if it was the only Photon Sabre Tiger on the field. But KiteZERO had this already figured out due to the other ability of Photon Sabre Tiger: it could add another one of its own to its owner's hand.

KiteZERO then activated Photon Lead to Special Summon the other Photon Sabre Tiger to the field. Now that both were out, they both had 2000 Attack Points. And, of course, KiteZERO tributed them both to Special Summon his ace card: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. The beast roared with absolute power and it shone light the three suns in the sky.

[Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon – 3000 ATK – 2500 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Dragon-Type – Level 8]

But it wasn't done there and the Polymerization it then activated only reinforced that. By combining two Photon Crushers in its hand; he could Fusion Summon Twin Photon Lizard. He then attacked Angel with his newest monster. Despite Number 88 being a Number and therefore being unable to be destroyed by Twin Photon Lizard, Angel still took damage.

[Angel: 1300]

KiteZERO then attacked with his Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Zak's heart skipped a beat when he realised that this attack would finish Angel if it connected. Zak rushed and activated his facedown Mirror Force to get rid of Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Twin Photon Lizard. KiteZERO was still quicker than that and used his own monster's effect to banish itself and Number 88 from the field. But Twin Photon Lizard wasn't so lucky and was destroyed by Zak's trap in an instant.

KiteZERO ended its turn as its shining dragon returned to the field. Due to it absorbing the overlay units of Angel's Number 88; it was 1000 Attack Points stronger and all of its scales had lit up. The only good news was that Angel hadn't been defeated and her Number 88's Attack Points had returned to normal. Angel was somewhat relieved but was also annoyed that her monster no longer had any overlay units and KiteZERO's dragon was stronger than ever. She glanced at Zak with a raised eyebrow but the latter simply shrugged in response.


	24. The Assault

The next duel ghost trying its might against the two man army was Yuma's. It drew with the same silence that surrounded all duel ghosts. First it's first move, out came Ganbara Knight: a monster with zero attack points. Then it activated a spell card known as Monster Slots. Zak frowned; didn't Monster Slots need a monster in the graveyard in order to be used? Then it hit him: Angel's Dark World Dealings. Zak realised that YumaZERO must have sent a Level four monster to the graveyard after Angel had activated Dark World Dealings. And now that a Level four monster was in Yuma's graveyard and Monster Slots had been activated, if the next card that YumaZERO drew was a Level four monster; then it could be Special Summoned straight away. The monster in YumaZERO's graveyard was Gogogo Golem and it was banished for the effect of Monster Slots.

YumaZERO drew and revealed Gagaga Magician; so the latter was instantly Special Summoned. Yuma's duel ghost overlayed his to Level four monsters and Xyz Summoned Number 39: Utopia to the field. Zak was annoyed to see it that early. With 2500 Attack Points, it could easily take out Number 88 on Angel's field with ease and lower her to only 1000 Life Points left. But YumaZERO did something that Zak would have never expected: it directed Number 39 to attack none other than Zak's Number Thirteen. Zak knew that Number Thirteen was stronger by 500 Attack points, so why would YumaZERO attack it with a weaker monster.

Then Number 39's ability kicked in thanks to YumaZERO's activating of it. By using a single overlay unit; Number 39's attack was cancelled. Both Zak and Angel looked at Yuma's duel ghost in confusion. Had it really just attacked for no reason at all? But they both rolled their eyes when they realised that of course it hadn't been a misplay. YumaZERO had then activated the spell card Double or Nothing! If an attack was negated, the ghost could simply activate this to double his monster's Attack points and allow it one more attack. With 5000 Attack Points; Number 39 aimed its blade at Zak's Number Thirteen.

It was a good thing that Zak still had a facedown in play and it was the perfect kind of trap for this kind of situation. Zak activated it just as Number 39's blade came into contact with Number Thirteen. The result was entertaining to say the least. The attack had been blocked and YumaZERO had taken all the damage instead. Zak gave a little laugh when YumaZERO had fallen for his facedown Magic Cylinder. 5000 points of direct damage had been a bit of an overkill.

[YumaZERO: 0]

Two down and three to go, Zak thought as Yuma's duel ghost faded into darkness as SharkZERO had done only minutes earlier. The only downside was that now Zak was out of defensive traps and, hence, could not protect either himself or Angel against the remaining three duel ghosts any more. It was now IV's duel ghost's turn and it drew with ferocity. In a flash, it had Normal Summoned Gimmick Puppet – Bomb Egg in attack position. Then it discarded a card from its hand to activate the newly summoned monster's effect and inflict 800 points of damage to an opponent. It chose Zak without hesitation. Zak grunted as his Life Points fell.

[Zak: 600]

The card that IVZERO had discarded was Gimmick Puppet – Necro Doll and, through the activation of IVZERO's Junk Puppet spell card; the former was revived to the field in defence position. Zak was cautious now; the monster had zero attack or defence points, so there was only one reason why it had been Special Summoned. His suspicions were then proved by the use of IVZERO's Level Cross: doubling the Level of Gimmick Puppet – Bomb Egg to Level 8. However, Level Cross required IVZERO to send a card from his hand to the graveyard, not that it seemed to matter. IVZERO was instantaneous in the overlaying of its two Level 8 monsters to Xyz Summon. To both Zak and Angel's surprise; out came another Number, this one in defence mode.

[Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder – 1500 ATK – 2500 DEF – DARK Attribute – Machine-Type – Rank 8]

IVZERO used Number 15's first overlay unit to activate its effect. Neither Zak nor Angel had any idea what to expect from the new Number; but they were soon to find out. IVZERO directed Number 15 to target Zak's Number Thirteen. The giant puppet raised its arms and reached for Number Thirteen, clutching it and dragging it toward itself. Then its chest opened up to reveal a large amount of gears and mechanical parts, all spinning wildly. Zak jumped when he realised that Number 15 was attempting to destroy Number Thirteen, but he then smiled: because it wasn't about to happen.

'I use the ability of my dragon!' Zak retaliated, 'I can use two overlay units to prevent its destruction and then destroy your monster! Then my dragon gains 500 Attack points!'

After Zak used two of the six overlay units, Number Thirteen set itself on fire in a silvery blaze. It roared out in power and caused Number 15 to self-destruct. Zak's Number then gained its Attack point boost and flew back to float behind Zak, snarling at the duelist who had just attempted to destroy it. IVZERO did not react and simply activated the final card in its hand: Puppet Ritual. Instantly Number 15 was revived to the field in defence mode. Zak was just happy it did not have overlay units. IVZERO ended its turn there and passed the baton to Angel's own duel ghost. The latter drew as fast as all duel ghosts did: instantly.

AngelZERO first summoned Gellenduo straight to the field before activating Double Summon from her hand. It then tributed Gellenduo to Advance Summon Master Hyperion in attack mode. It was not wasting time and it was showing no mercy at all. Master Hyperion's effect was activated by the banishing of Gellenduo from AngelZERO's graveyard and the target of the effect was none other than Angel's own Number 88. The latter was destroyed by the beam of light send by the former. Zak could see where this was going and he did not like it one bit.

AngelZERO wasted even less time in directing Master Hyperion to attack Angel directly. Zak had no more facedown traps to protect his friend and no cards in his hand to prevent any further harm from befalling either of them. Angel only had Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen along with her facedown; the latter of which Zak hadn't noticed until now. Angel had played it on her first move, but hadn't used it at all and so Zak had written it off. Angel was about to be defeated since Master Hyperion had only 2700 Attack points: enough to reduce Angel's Life Points to far below zero.

Zak's blood ran cold and Angel growled at her duel ghost. Master Hyperion's surge of light it had sent toward her was about to hit. Zak had nothing, he couldn't protect her. Then: contact and a blinding flash of light.

'Angel!' Zak called out in horror.


	25. The Retaliation

[Angel: 4000]

Zak looked at the Life Points, perplexed. But he gave a sigh of relief when he saw what had just taken place. Angel was still standing with a smile that read 'Yeah, that's right!' and a opened trap card which Zak knew well: Draining Shield. AngelZERO's attack had been negated while Angel had regained Life Points equal to the attack of Master Hyperion. Now Angel reigned with the highest Life Point total while Zak stood there amazed. Angel had been waiting for just the right moment to use her trap. She turned to Zak and winked at him. He couldn't help but smile in relief.

Angel's duel ghost made no response except for playing Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Angel's Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen. It seemed that the ghost did not want Angel to make a comeback. The turn ended there and Angel was up next. Angel drew her card and activated it promptly. It was Pot of Greed and so Angel could draw two more cards. The next card to hit the field was Chaos-End Master in attack mode. Angel then activated Monster Reborn from her hand to Special Summon Honest back from her graveyard. Angel then tuned her Honest with her Chaos-End Master with a grin on her face and Synchro Summoned Ancient Sacred Wyvern.

Due to the effect of Ancient Sacred Wyvern, it would gain Attack points equal to the difference in Life Points between Angel and her opponent; if Angel's life Points were higher. Her opponent that she was targeting was her own duel ghost: so Ancient Sacred Wyvern got a boost of 2600 Attack points, pushing it to 4700. Angel winked at her own duel ghost as she gave the word for Ancient Sacred Wyvern to destroy Master Hyperion. The beast complied and roared with a burst of white flame which burnt Master Hyperion to ashes.

[AngelZERO: 0]

Angel's duel ghost growled in rage as it faded into darkness and disappeared. Angel was relieved; that had been the second time she'd beaten herself now. Now only two duel ghosts remained. Angel knew she couldn't do anything else against them and so ended her turn. Since Shark's duel ghost had already been defeated, Zak was up next. Zak drew his card and nodded when he saw his next plan of attack. He activated the only card in his hand: Blustering Winds, and used it to raise Darkshine Dragon to 4000 Attack Points; putting it on par with KiteZERO's Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. Zak directed Number Thirteen to attack Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon with all its might.

KiteZERO tried to escape the attack and used Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's effect; attempting to banish it and Darkshine Dragon. But Zak was a step ahead and used Number Thirteen's effect: negating Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, destroying it and then gaining 500 Attack points. Since Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon had been destroyed, a replay occurred and Zak attacked KiteZERO directly with Number Thirteen. The 4500 Attack points tore through KiteZERO's Life Points and left it with nothing. The latter then faded into darkness. This time, however, it was silent compared to the other duel ghosts which would shriek or growl. Now only IV's duel ghost remained, and Zak was about to take it down too.

'Here we go!' Zak shouted in a powerful voice, 'I use Number Thirteen: Darkshine Dragon as an Overlay Unit so I can evolve it into something greater! Go: Chaos Xyz Evolution! I summon the true power of chaos from within my own soul! Behold! Chaos Number 13: Darkshine Dragon Ascension!'

The shining armoured dragon tore through the portal that had been used to summon it and gave an almighty roar to signal its appearance. Zak too, felt the power of it coursing through him. IVZERO looked on in silence.

'I use my dragon's ability! By using all Overlay Units; it can destroy all monsters on the field and deal you damage equal to their combined Attack Points!' Zak said confidently, 'So go Chaos Number Thirteen! Destroy Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder and end this madness! Eternal Sunlit Shadow!'

The clouds parted as the dragon soared through. After a crack of thunder boomed across the cold Heartland, meteors rained down upon Number 15 and destroyed it. Then, coated in a powerful silver flame, Chaos Number Thirteen flew straight into IV's duel ghost in a black and white explosion.

[IVZERO: 0]

Even though the duel was not technically over since Zak and Angel had been opponents; they both deactivated their duel disks and removed their D-Gazers after IVZERO had faded into darkness like the other four duel ghosts. Both gave a long sigh of respite; that duel was finally over. Five duels ghosts against the two with all duelists on 2000 Life Points and the rules biased against them. And they had come out on top. But there was no time for celebration because they still had a task at hand. They looked over to where the hospital was in the distance and saw that dark red clouds had formed all over the cold Heartland. The cold and the darkness were also still just as powerful and tormenting.

Zak looked at Angel and they both nodded at each other before running off toward their destination once again. They rushed out of the alley and raced toward the ever present Heartland hospital; hoping that the mysterious was there and unpossessed. Angel called out to Zak as they ran.

'Hey sweetie?' Angel asked, 'How do we know that the mysterious guy is there?'

'We don't,' Zak replied shortly, 'Let's hope he is.'

'Wonderful,' Angel replied sarcastically, 'But I still didn't get my Chaos Number.'

Zak smiled as they ran; if that duel back then hadn't prepared them for anything, then nothing would. They reached the hospital in five minutes and broke through the doors to the elevator. They caught their breath as much as possible as it took them to the roof. It had been a tough journey to get there; running for ages at top speed and fighting a small army of duel ghosts. The duo was exhausted from their small ordeal; but now they were at their destination. And they just hoped that they didn't have to fight further.

When the doors opened, Zak and Angel saw the one they had been searching for. The mysterious figure was standing on one side of the roof. But he was not alone. On the other side of the roof were two duel ghosts, and all three had their duel disks activated and were locked in a duel. Zak recognized the two duel ghosts as duel ghosts of Gauche and Droite: the two previous administrators of the World Duel Carnival. But why were the duel ghosts fighting against the mysterious figure? Unless he wasn't possessed, Zak thought. But Zak's relief was short lived when he heard the deep voice of the mysterious figure boom in his and Angel's minds.

'Number Zero's ability activates. Gauche's monster is destroyed and he takes damage equal to its attack.' The voice said powerfully.

Zak watched in horror as the giant figure of Number Zero, which was standing behind the mysterious figure, raised its giant sword and destroyed the monster that GaucheZERO had on the field. The monster had been called Heroic Champion – Excalibur and it had 4000 Attack points. How could Zak and Angel have missed it? It was just like it had been in Zak's nightmare: only real now.

[GaucheZERO: 0]

The duel ghost faded into darkness as the mysterious figure gave the order for Number Zero to attack and destroy the monster DroiteZERO had on the field; Photon Papilloperative. Another slash of the giant blade later and the small monster was annihilated.

[DroiteZERO: 0] [Winner: ?]

The elevator doors closed behind Zak and Angel as the giant skeletal warrior of Number Zero faded from the field and Droite's duel ghost faded away into nothingness. Zak and Angel walked slowly to face the mysterious figure. Then his voice sounded once again in their minds.

'Welcome, you two, to the end.'


	26. The Revelation

Zak took a deep breath when he faced the mysterious figure. Now he, Angel and the mysterious figure stood facing each other on top of the hospital in the cold Heartland.

And the mysterious figure had Number Zero. Or was it vice versa?

'How long have you had it?' Zak asked bluntly.

'Since just before our last duel,' The deep and dark voice sounded.

'Why didn't you use it?'

'Needed time to prepare. And now here you are; both of you: ready to meet your fate.'

'Who were the two before us?'

'Two duel ghosts of the previous World Duel Carnival administrators. Test subjects.'

Zak frowned at the mysterious figure; but the latter showed no care from his glowing silver eyes. The mysterious figure knew he had the upper hand and both Zak and Angel knew it too. They all knew what this chit chat was leading up to. But Zak wasn't looking forward to it, so he tried to stall.

'What do you want?' Zak asked.

'Do you mean: 'What does Zero want?'' The voice replied.

'Is there any difference?'

'Number Zero seeks to unite all Numbers under its control. I will be at the forefront of this; duelling and destroying all Numbered Duellists.'

'And I suppose that we're standing in your way?'

'All fifteen of your Numbers will be taken mercilessly unless you surrender them now.'

Zak guessed that Number Zero knew exactly how many Number cards both he and Angel had. Zak did not want to give in. That would mean giving up before the fight had even begun. But this wasn't a fight; this was a war, and this was the last defining battle. Angel retorted to the mysterious figure before Zak could decline his offer of surrendering.

'What happens if we refuse to give in?' She asked without her smile.

'A duel in which Number Zero will destroy you,' Said the voice in an instant.

'Both of us against you? Do you honestly think you could beat…'

The voice interrupted her with a seemingly irritated tone, 'Do you honestly think you could destroy the ruler of all Numbers?'

Zak and Angel remained silent. While it would be two against one, they hadn't thought about the threat of Number Zero actually being in the deck of the already powerful mysterious figure. And he could summon it.

'So make your choice now. Surrender or be destroyed,' The voice was adamant.

'What happens after Number Zero acquires all other Numbers?' Zak asked, trying to shift away from duelling.

'This timestream will be destroyed and all three other worlds will be brought under the absolute control of Number Zero,' The voice sounded deeply.

'All three?'

'Your world; the Astral World: from where the Numbers came from; and the Barian World: where the Barrier Light comes from. All three will belong to Number Zero.'

'Can't you fight it? Can't you get rid of Number Zero?'

'There was no chance of that. I was taken control of instantly. After all, it did create me.'

Zak was now confused by what the mysterious figure had meant. How did Number Zero create him? Zak's heart was pounding now, he could feel the final piece of the puzzle close by; just waiting to finish the jigsaw.

'Created you?' Zak asked slowly.

The mysterious figure did not respond. Instead, he slowly moved his clawed hands to his hood. He began to remove the hood and cloak from his head and slowly he revealed his face. The cloak dropped to ground, as did the jaws of both Zak and Angel. They now knew who the mysterious figure was: and it was one of the last people they wanted to see.

It was Zak. Or, more specifically, Zak's duel ghost.

Zak was astonished, he couldn't speak or move. This revelation was crazy. The mysterious figure, the Malefic/ Photon duellist that had appeared throughout his and Angel's journey for the past few days and had given them so much confusion, was him; a pale blue all-duel version of him. The duel ghost looked at them with its shining silver eyes. It saw into their eyes and saw right into the plethora of questions that were waiting to be asked.

'H-how?' Was the first question, and it was Zak's.

'You weren't the first to visit this timestream,' Was the reply.

Zak didn't need to ask the next question, it was obviously about to be answered.

'Tron. He came here looking for a way to destroy Dr Faker. He activated Zak's duel ghost and drew with it. When a duel ghost wins or ties: it escapes and becomes sentient to a small extent,' The voice explained.

'But what about everything else? What about the Barrier Light and your deck? And then Number Zero?' Angel blurted out.

'The Barrier Light was left by Tron after he attempted to leave. Needless to say, he has not returned. The Malefic and Photon cards come from me taking them from Paradox and Dr Faker respectively. Being a duel ghost has its benefits.'

'So why obtain them then and not stick with your deck and Number Thirteen?'

'After I was released by Tron, I knew of Number Zero. Being Zak's duel ghost, I wanted to destroy it. Therefore I decided to create a deck of some of the most powerful cards I knew of. That's why I duelled both of you and appeared to you all of those times beforehand. I was testing you, so that maybe you would have a chance against Number Zero if I failed.'

'Then Number Zero took over?'

'Yes. That's why I now use Greed Quasar and why I will defeat both of you. Number Zero will reign supreme. I have no choice.'

Zak grunted. He knew that he and Angel would have to face his duel ghost now and Number Zero along with it. But then he thought of something. Maybe he could save the duel ghost, he thought. The duel ghost had said that it wanted to defeat Number Zero before it took over. If they defeated it, then maybe Number Zero would release its hold and his duel ghost would be free. Zak quickly whispered his idea in Angel's ear. She nodded at him; she was thinking the same thing.

It seemed that the no longer mysterious figure would get its wish of duelling them both at once. Zak took a deep breath and looked once at Angel before facing his duel ghost. The duel ghost did not seem unsettled in the slightest. It was under the control of the ruler of Numbers after all; and so it was confident in its ability. Zak just hoped that this ability wasn't greater than his or Angel's, because that would mean a lot of problems for them both. Zak and Angel activated their duel disks and Zak's duel ghost did the same. The virtual reality swept over the field as the duel ghost's eyes became the glowing red of its brethren. This was going to be a duel to remember.

[Angel: 4000] [Zak: 4000] [ZakZERO: 4000]


	27. The Creation

A Battle Royale was the setting of this duel of fates. Zak decided to take the first move. He could feel the power of Number Thirteen resonating in his Extra Deck; it was itching to get out and fight the ruler of Numbers. However, Zak was apprehensive about bringing it out to say the least. That would mean placing a normal Number monster against its supposed master; and that would not end well. Zak finally decided to place on the defence until he found out just what he and Angel were up against.

Zak summoned Destiny Hero – Defender in defence position before laying three facedowns and ending his turn. It wasn't much to go off; but it would at least save him and Angel for a few turns at most. Not to mention that Angel would get to draw one extra card due to the effect of Destiny Hero – Defender; which was a bonus. However, so too would Zak's duel ghost. It was a risk that was hopefully going to be worth it.

Angel took the next turn and began with a bang. After drawing two cards with the help of Zak's Destiny Hero, both of her main spell cards were on the field: Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen and Sanctuary in the Sky. She then summoned her Athena to the field with the effect of Valhalla. She looked at Zak meaningfully, asking him silently if he was okay taking damage due to Athena's effect. Zak nodded at once: if it meant damaging Number Zero and the duel ghost, then it was more than worth it.

Angel smiled at Zak and then Normal Summoned Gellenduo to the field with Athena's effect kicking in straight away. Since a Fairy-Type monster had been summoned while Athena was face-up: all of Angel's opponents took 600 points of damage.

[Zak: 3400] [ZakZERO: 3400]

Angel activated Double Summon quickly and then sacrificed Gellenduo to Advance Summon Prime Material Dragon. Zak was relieved; now the duel ghost couldn't damage them through effect damage at all while Prime Material Dragon was face-up. Angel ended her turn there and waited for the attack of Number Zero and its duel ghost puppet.

Zak's duel ghost drew twice instantly and activated Pot of Greed to draw two more cards: raising the total in his hand to eight. He then placed two cards facedown. Zak wondered why he'd needed so many drawn cards. It wasn't like him to play like that. He was usually powering on with Photon and Malefic cards, but there had been none at all yet. Then again, only three cards had been played, and six were still left in the duel ghost's hand.

But they weren't there for long, at least not after the activation of Card Destruction by ZakZERO. He discarded all cards in his hand to draw another five while both Zak and Angel had to do the same. Zak discarded two and Angel discarded one. They all then drew the same amount of cards they had just lost. Zak had no idea what was going on; the deck of his own duel ghost seemed to be changing repeatedly every time they duelled. The next card that was played by Number Zero's puppet was Soul Release. Zak knew that it meant that up to five cards from any graveyard could be banished now and he assumed that any strong cards that had been lost from him and Angel were the targets. He was wrong.

The targets were all the cards that ZakZERO had discarded by Card Destruction. Four of them were Photon monsters no less, and the last was Greed Quasar. Photon Crusher, Photon Cerberus, Photon Lizard, Photon Circle as well as Greed Quasar all left the game. Just what was the duel ghost playing at, Zak wondered. Didn't he need Greed Quasar to summon Number Zero; so why would he banish it and four Photon monsters from the game? Zak had a very bad feeling about it all and he wasn't looking forward to what would happen next. ZakZERO silently activated Malefic World to erase the Sanctuary in the Sky already covering the cold Heartland. The haunting night sky pattern of Malefic World covered the building and scenery, adding to the overall silence.

After activating Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one of Zak's three facedown cards (which ended up being Scrap-Iron Scarecrow) ZakZERO banished Rainbow Dragon from his deck to Special Summon Malefic Rainbow Dragon to the field in attack mode.

[Malefic Rainbow Dragon – 4000 ATK – 0 DEF – DARK Attribute – Dragon-Type – Level 10]

The following attack was directed straight at Destiny Hero – Defender which was destroyed instantly in the rainbow coloured inferno. ZakZERO ended his turn without a word and handed the turn over to Zak. Zak drew and looked through his hand. There were three cards in his hand while Angel and ZakZERO had only one each. Zak had no monsters and two facedown traps, the latter of which would be useful soon hopefully. ZakZERO had sent Twin-Headed Behemoth and Star Changer to the graveyard with Card Destruction from Zak's hand. Zak placed Xyz Reborn from his hand facedown and activated Call of the Haunted to bring back his recently destroyed Destiny Hero – Defender. He then Normal Summoned Master of the Flaming Dragonswords.

Zak quickly overlayed his two Level four monsters and Xyz Summoned Number 50: Black Corn in defence mode and then called it a turn there. Angel took the baton and drew before activating Monster Reborn on Master Hyperion. It seemed that the latter had been sent there by the Card Destruction of ZakZERO. As soon as Master Hyperion was summoned, Athena's effect activated yet again to deal 600 points of damage to both Zak and his duel ghost. However, Prime Material Dragon's effect also activated in response; healing the two instead of damaging them.

[Zak: 4000] [ZakZERO: 4000]

Now we're back where we started, Zak thought. He then added that his field was an almost impenetrable defence now and Angel had a good offence with Master Hyperion. Angel placed the last card in her hand facedown and used the ability of Master Hyperion to prove it.

'Alrighty Number Zero; we are going to beat you!' Angel shouted forcefully, 'Master Hyperion: destroy Malefic Rainbow Dragon!'

A sharp burst of light created from the banished Gellenduo was sent directly at Malefic Rainbow dragon; causing it to crack and shatter.

'Go Master Hyperion!' Angel continued, 'Attack the duel ghost directly!'

Another blinding flash of light was let loose, this time directed toward ZakZERO, causing a small explosion near the latter. After the smoke cleared, however, was the sight of the duel ghost still standing with a newly opened trap card: Negate Attack. The attack of Master Hyperion had been for nothing and now the Battle Phase was over. Angel ended her turn with a small growl.

The draw of the duel ghost was instant and it was powerful. Zak could see the slightest hint of a dark small forming across the face of his own duel ghost now. It was coming and Zak's heart was racing now. ZakZERO's eyes glowed even brighter now when it activated its final facedown card: Return from the Different Dimension. By paying half of his Life Points; the duel ghost could Special Summon as many banished monsters as possible, but they'd be banished again at the end Phase. So out came half of the duel ghost's Life Points and all Photon Monsters as well as Greed Quasar.

[ZakZERO: 2000]

The Greed Quasar was then instantly equipped with Overlevel: giving it an additional 100 Attack points for every level it had; raising it to 2800. ZakZERO then directed Greed Quasar to destroy Prime Material Dragon. The latter was destroyed by the skeletal monstrosity with ease.

[Angel: 3600]

Zak's heart completely stopped when he saw what it now meant: Greed Quasar was now resting on 5200 Attack points and thirteen Levels: thirteen horrifying Levels. And the last card that ZakZERO then played was none other than Galaxy Queen's Light: setting all of the Photon monsters on the duel ghost's side of the field to Level thirteen; resulting in five Level thirteen monsters. Zak and Angel froze when they saw the nightmare unfolding. The voice of ZakZERO only served to accelerate it.

'Using all five of these Level thirteen monsters, I create the ultimate Overlay Network! Behold as the heavens split and the grounds roar for the birth of the ruler of all things! I give you the master of Numbers and the god of the three worlds! Number Zero: Multiverse!' The voice roared in their heads.

The coldness became ice as a huge portal opened above the hospital and the clouds as well as the haze turned bright red. A huge skeletal and partially armoured shadowy warrior descended from the portal, landing behind ZakZERO. ZakZERO's eyes were ablaze as Zak saw the true scope of the dreaded Number Zero. It was towering over the hospital with its huge menacing red eyes; matching the duel ghosts'. The cloak and armour that the mysterious figure wore before he had revealed himself was reminiscent of the huge dark warrior standing above them. The buster sword held by Number Zero was sharper than ever and as tall as the hospital itself. The figure was a grim reaper in spiky black armour. It was the true incarnation of fear.

[Number Zero: Multiverse – 0 ATK – 0 DEF – DARK Attribute – Divine-Beast-Type – Rank 13]


	28. The Evolution

'I shall explain,' Came the confident voice of the duel ghost, 'Number Zero, being the ruler of Numbers, has access to all other effects of the Numbers. Firstly, Number Zero gains 1000 Attack points for every Overlay Unit it has attached to it. So that's 5000 Attack points already. And, once per turn, I can detach one Overlay Unit to demonstrate its power.'

The duel ghost held up Photon Crusher, which had previously been attached to the dark Number, and the card became blank.

'I now declare any Number between 1 and 99 and this card here becomes the Number equivalent of whatever I choose,' The voice continued, 'Afterwards, I equip this card to Number Zero. I think I shall begin the true horrors with Number 13.'

The blank card in the duel ghost's hand became a copy of Number Thirteen before being equipped to Number Zero, which had powered down to 4000 Attack points. The turn was then ended there. Zak was almost too paralysed to even begin his turn, but he stood his ground and drew his card. He now had both Shine Knight and Trident Warrior in his hand and Number 50 on his field. He had everything he needed to summon Number Thirteen. But Zak hesitated; he did not completely know the powers of Number Zero yet. Number Thirteen could not beat the monster on Attack points or effect yet, so Zak ended his turn and waited.

Angel drew her card and activated the effect of Hecatrice in her hand to add another Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen to her hand by discarding Hecatrice. Zak frowned at why she'd done that; she already had Valhalla on the field and having a backup monster in her hand in case Athena and Master Hyperion were destroyed was a good thing too. But then he saw what she was doing. She was using Master Hyperion's effect. Zak smiled; Number Zero was going down quickly.

Angel spoke up with a hint of triumph coming into her voice, 'You may be Zak's duel ghost and you may have Number Zero already, but you still aren't invincible! And I will prove it! I banish Hecatrice from my graveyard to activate Master Hyperion's effect! I destroy Number Zero!'

The powerful jet of light shot off by Master Hyperion was knocked calmly aside by the giant blade of Number Zero. ZakZERO almost seemed amused at the attempt to destroy the overruling Number. Another slash of the giant sword later and Master Hyperion was cut in two and destroyed. Number Zero wasn't even trying.

'Number Zero gains the effects of all Number cards equipped to it,' The heartless voice sounded, 'And I can activate their effects without using Overlay Units. So once per turn, I can use Number Thirteen's ability as Number Zero's! Master Hyperion is destroyed and Number Zero gains 500 Attack points until my Standby Phase.'

Zak couldn't believe it, this was the true power of Number Zero: it could use any other Number ability as its own and do this five times in total. The longer it was left; the stronger it became. Zak and Angel had their work completely cut out for them. Number Thirteen's defensive effect had been stolen and, most likely, a more powerful and offensive effect would be taken next turn. Angel switched Athena into defence mode and ended her turn.

After another instant draw, ZakZERO activated the ability of the deadly Number Zero yet again and chose Number 39 as the ability to add to Number Zero. Zak remembered Number 39 as Utopia from Yuma, but the effect was hazy and Zak couldn't remember it. But it didn't matter due to another attack from Number Zero against Athena. Zak activated his facedown Attack Invulnerability to protect Angel's goddess from the giant sword. Athena was safe and Angel was relieved.

'Thank you sweetie,' Angel said to Zak, trying to sound confident.

ZakZERO ended his turn in silence. Zak drew and was happy to see Blustering Winds. Zak then saw a way to defeat Number Zero due its effect. Number Zero was resting at 3000 Attack points now and if Zak Number Thirteen along with Blustering Winds being activated; then Number Zero would be destroyed! Zak smiled slightly as he put his plan into motion.

'I summon Trident Warrior!' Zak shouted, 'Then I Special Summon Shine Knight in defence mode due to Trident Warrior's effect. Shine Knight becomes Level four due to its own effect, so I overlay it and Trident Warrior to Xyz Summon! I call upon Gem-Knight Pearl in Attack mode! But I'm not done I overlay my two Rank four monsters to Extend Xyz Summon! Arise, the power of chaos in my own soul! Number Thirteen: Darkshine Dragon!'

The great dragon burst into existence above the hospital and promptly roared at Number Zero, who glared at the dragon in response. Zak then activated Blustering Winds and directed Number Thirteen to attack Number Zero. This was it, Zak thought. Angel smiled as the dragon covered itself in silver flame and flew head on into the great Number before it. Only it was stopped short by the blade of Number Zero. Number Thirteen returned to Zak's side of the field and roared again. Zak looked at his duel ghost in confusion.

'Number 39: Utopia's effect can block a single attack per Battle Step,' The dark voice explained.

Zak was shocked; his attack hadn't worked. He sighed and ended his turn. Angel picked up the baton and drew, only to see that the card she'd drawn wasn't amazing. She ended her turn without a word and watched the duel ghost begin his turn.

After the usual instantaneous draw; ZakZERO used up the third Overlay Unit of Number Zero: giving it the power of Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder. Zak and Angel knew half of the effect of Giant Grinder: that being it could destroy one Special Summoned monster at the usage of an Overlay Unit; but they didn't know the rest. So the duel ghost gladly filled them in, telling them that if the destroyed monster was an Xyz monster; the opponent would take damage equal to its attack.

'I now use Number 15's effect twice,' Commanded the dark voice of ZakZERO, 'I first destroy Athena!'

The goddess was tiny in comparison to the great dark sword that destroyed it in a flash.

'Now for Number Thirteen,' The voice came again.

Zak smiled, 'I use Number Thirteen's effect! By using two Overlay Units: I can negate the effect and destroy Number Zero! Go Darkshine Dragon!

The duel ghost made no move as Number Thirteen covered itself in flame and flew once again towards Number Zero. But once again, the blade blocked it in its tracks. However, this time was different, as the sword was then used by Number Zero's giant dark figure to slash at Number Thirteen. The dragon let off a howl as it was destroyed. Zak was breathless; his dragon had been stopped again and now destroyed.

'I, too, use Number thirteen's effect,' The cruel voice sounded, 'Now Number Zero gains 500 attack points. I then further increase this by another 1000 due to the spell card Overlay Regen. It becomes an Overlay Unit for Number Zero; giving it a total of 3500 Attack points. Now Number Zero attacks you directly.'

Zak looked on in fear as the giant blade slashed through him in an instant. The Number controlling the duel ghosts was faster than them in its actions.

[Zak: 500]

A facedown was all that was necessary to end the duel ghost's turn. Zak was hanging on by less than a thread. He hoped that his next draw would help to turn the tides. It was Fissure! Zak then remembered his facedown Xyz Reborn. He saw the way out; the way to win! Zak activated his facedown Xyz Reborn and instantly revived Number Thirteen to the field; trying to contain his excitement as he did. Zak then activated Fissure from his hand; knowing that it would be blocked through the use of Number Zero using Number Thirteen's effect by ZakZERO.

He was right and the duel ghost calmly negated the attempt to destroy Number Zero. ZakZERO was calm and collected; even with Number Thirteen back on the field. But Zak wasn't sticking with Number Thirteen; he was going further.

Zak roared in triumph, 'I combine Number Thirteen: Darkshine Dragon with its Overlay Units to Chaos Xyz Evolve it into something greater! Behold the balancing of darkness and light and the creation of their mergence! I call upon Chaos Number Thirteen: Darkshine Dragon Ascension!'

The powerful chaotic dragon exploded into existence into the cold Heartland. It was howling in absolute power against Number Zero as Zak used all of its Overlay Units.

'By using all of its Overlay Units,' Zak said calmly, 'I can destroy all monsters on the field; then you'll take damage equal to their combined Attack Points. Since you've already used Number Thirteen's protection effect once this turn; you can't use it again! Chaos Number Thirteen: end his darkness and Number Zero along with it!'

Chaos Number Thirteen snarled in compliance and soared into the bright red clouds. After a shattering roar from the dragon, the clouds parted to reveal numerous meteors all finding their mark on the towering dark god. Chaos Number Thirteen then flew, covered in a huge silver flame, straight into the chest of Number Zero; causing its signature black and white explosion.

'It's over,' Zak breathed.


	29. The Shining

Zak and Angel waited for the smoke to clear so they could see the end of Number Zero and Zak's possessed duel ghost. It had been a difficult match against the awesome power of Number Zero. But due to Zak's Chaos Number; it was over. Or, at least, that's what they thought.

The smoke finally cleared, but what remained was not what Zak and Angel had expected, or wanted. ZakZERO stood just where he had stood before the impact, and so too did Number Zero. There was no scratch on either of them and not a single Life Points lost. The only difference was the opened trap card, which Zak guessed had saved them. The trap was called Medallion Record and it negated an effect that used Overlay Units. Chaos Number Thirteen returned to Zak's side of the field and snarled once more at Number Zero.

Zak sighed heavily. Nothing he did seemed to even dent his duel ghost; let alone beat it and Number Zero. Zak had no cards left in his hand, nothing that could activate in his graveyard and only 500 Life Points left. He'd run out of options and ended his turn in silence. Angel looked at him sadly as she drew her card. She'd drawn Honest. She smiled herself and looked at her own hand. She had Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen; Angel O7; Tethys, Goddess of Light and now Honest. On her field was another Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen and her facedown: Call of the Haunted. Angel had considered using her trap throughout the duel. But it would've been a waste anytime due to Number Zero's effect of using Number 15's effect; hence resulting in the destruction of whatever she Special Summoned.

But maybe she wouldn't have to use it, Angel thought. By using Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen to Special Summon Tethys to the field and using Honest to attack Number Zero; she could deal enough damage to win. Angel gave Zak a small smile and then Special Summoned Tethys, Goddess of Light to the field in Attack position. Angel gave the word for it to attack Number Zero and then activated Honest's effect from her hand: raising Tethy's Attack points by Number Zero's; giving it a grand total of 6400 due to Number Zero having already used Number Thirteen's effect twice to give it an extra 1000 Attack Points.

Tethys, Goddess of Light gave off a powerful pulse of light energy directed at Number Zero. Sure the Number wouldn't be destroyed due to Tethys being not a Number; but the resulting damage would be enough for Angel to defeat ZakZERO and the dreaded Number behind him. The pulse was almost at Number Zero before the giant sword was raised to defend it yet again. Tethys' attack was stopped dead, like Chaos Number Thirteen's before it.

'Forget about Number 39's effect did we?' ZakZERO's dark voice inquired.

Angel mentally kicked herself; she had forgotten. She'd been to busy focusing on Number Thirteen's and Number 15's effects to notice Number 39's still being a part of Number Zero. Angel had no moves left in her hand, and so ended her turn. ZakZERO drew in silence and activated the effect of Number 15 as a part of Number Zero.

Tethys, Goddess of Light was gone in an instant swipe of the dark sword. The effect was activated again by the duel ghost, this time targeting Chaos Number Thirteen. Another slash later and the great dragon was completely destroyed. Angel looked at Zak in horror. They knew what was about to happen. Number Zero raised its blade above its shadowy head and glared at Zak. Zak was rooted to the spot. His nightmare was becoming a reality. He looked at Angel in terror, who returned his gaze in equal fear. Then the blade came crashing down upon him. Angel screamed out as it hit him.

[Zak: 0]

Zak was thrown back by the blast. Angel rushed over to where he landed near the edge of the hospital. She knelt beside him, almost in tears. Zak was barely holding onto consciousness now.

'Sweetie, come on,' Angel gasped, 'Don't do this! Come on! Please!'

Angel tried to hold back some of the now flowing tears as she pleaded with the fading Zak. She had no idea how to defeat the duel ghost and Number Zero. She didn't know how to beat him and she was afraid.

'Angel…' Came Zak's weak voice.

Angel leant in further to try and hear was Zak was trying to say. His voice was soft and he had been weakened greatly by the attack of Number Zero. Angel could only just make out what he was saying.

'Angel… Just focus. Focus… and believe. I know… you can,' Zak's voice trailed away as he looked into her blue eyes. He gave her a weak smile that she tried to reflect. Angel gently rested Zak down and walked back to the duel where ZakZERO was waiting. He was patient; possessed and evil, but patient.

'Ready?' The dark voice sounded.

Angel didn't respond: she was trying to get a hold of herself. But that wasn't easy with Number Zero staring down at her. ZakZERO gave the command for the 3000 Attack point strong ruler of Numbers to attack Angel directly. Angel took the hit and was knocked back to where Zak lay.

[Angel: 600]

ZakZERO then used up a fourth Overlay Unit of Number Zero, choosing to give it the power of Number 32: Shark Drake.

'Summon anything, and I'll destroy it,' The dark voice warned as Number Zero's Attack points were lowered to 2000, 'Turn end.'

Angel didn't want to stand up. She was on 600 Life Points and she was now fighting alone. Zak himself was only gripping onto consciousness as he watched Angel. She was lying down after being hit by number Zero. Slowly she looked into his eyes.

'Believe…' Zak mouthed.

Angel nodded a little and finally stood up. She searched inside her for a reason to keep fighting, but against the odds she was in; it was difficult to say the least. Angel drew her card while holding back her tears. She'd drawn Double Summon, but what would she use it on? Angel looked at Number Zero and closed her eyes. Why was she fighting, she asked herself. She knew that she had wanted to fight against the Numbers and stop people from getting hurt by them.

That's why she'd joined Zak in his journey against them. And she remembered that they'd been a great team; successfully capturing 15 Number cards between them. Zak had taught her how to Synchro Summon and he'd taken her to the Finalists' party. Angel couldn't help but give a small smile at that memory. She remembered that Zak had been there for her even though she had fought against him when they'd met. Then he'd accepted her becoming his partner and finally he'd saved her soul. Angel had believed in him every step of the way.

And he'd believed in her.

He still believed in her, Angel thought. He still believed in her to defeat Number Zero even against all odds. Angel then found her light and her reason for fighting. She was fighting for Zak and for herself and for everyone else. She and Zak were a team and they'd supported each other no matter what. So why should she give up now? Angel wiped away hers tears and looked at her cards in hope.

'Give up?' The cruel voice inquired.

'No,' Angel said defiantly, 'Never. Zak and I made a promise to keep each other safe! Just because you have the ultimate Number does not mean you're going to win! No situation is impossible and I will prove it! I promise to keep him safe just as he's done for me!'

Angel felt her reason to win surging through her. It was giving her strength and purpose and she could feel Zak's hope rushing through her too. There was always a way to win, she thought. Always. And then her deck showed her the way. Angel's deck lit up with her belief.

Angel breathed in deeply as she saw the path to victory lying ahead. She Special Summoned Angel O7 to the field through the effect of Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen. Afterwards, she activated Call of the Haunted to bring back Athena to the field. Angel overlayed her two Level seven monsters to Xyz Summon her Number. Number 88: Goddess of Light descended from the heavens to stand beside Angel in her quest to destroy Number Zero.

'Your goddess and her abilities are useless,' The dark voice said calmly.

'Maybe now, but not completely,' Angel replied, with a wink, finding herself again.

Angel looked at Zak who was still lying there but smiling nonetheless. Zak was happy for her, she had found her true power, and she was about to put it to good use.

'Number Zero,' Angel said in a level yet powerful tone, 'I combine Number 88: Goddess of Light with her Overlay Units to rebuild the Overlay Network. You may have the almighty darkness but I have the almighty light! And Light always banishes the darkness! I Xyz Summon the angel of truth and belief. Behold as the sky gives way to its own descendant of light itself! Chaos Number 88: Goddess of Light Shine!'

[Chaos Number 88: Goddess of Light Shine – 2200 ATK – 2700 DEF – LIGHT Attribute – Fairy-Type – Rank 7]


	30. The Finishing Point

'A new Chaos Number?' ZakZERO's voice said, 'Nothing to worry about.'

'I'm not so sure you should write her off just yet!' Angel shouted out, 'Her effect is something to be afraid of!'

'Did you forget that Number Zero cannot be destroyed that easily?'

Angel smiled, 'True; but its equip cards can.'

ZakZERO frowned at her. He was not happy to hear something like that.

Angel continued, 'Number Zero, although unbelievably powerful, is not invincible. And its weakness lies in its equip cards. If it loses its equipped Number cards; then it can't use their abilities.'

ZakZERO and Number Zero glared at Angel. She was onto something, and neither was happy to hear that she had figured out the weakness of the ruler of all Numbers. Angel smiled at them both.

'I activate the ability of my Chaos Number!' Angel called out, 'I can use one Overlay Unit once per turn, if my Life points are 1000 or below, and destroy all spell and trap cards on the field. Then, for every one destroyed; my angel gains 300 Attack and Defence points. I count six cards: your four equip cards, my Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen and your Malefic World! That's no more power for you and 1800 Points of power for my angel!'

The four equipped Numbers to Number Zero were all destroyed in a flash of overwhelming light from Chaos Number 88. The Malefic World, too, was disintegrated by the light. Angel smiled as Number Zero powered down and her new Number rose to 4000 Attack points. ZakZERO looked at Number Zero and then at Angel in shock. The ruler of Numbers and the one that had been possessing him was about to be destroyed by Angel. And she knew it.

'Chaos Number 88! Attack Number Zero: Multiverse! End the darkness!' Angel shouted in absolute triumph, 'Absolute Shining Ascension!'

Chaos Number 88 shone like the sun as she rose above the hospital and began drawing in the light around the cold Heartland. Then the light exploded from her in pulses straight into Number Zero. The latter was hit time and time again by the shining angel until it fell back onto the buildings behind it. Number Zero's red eyes flickered for a few moments before becoming blank.

[ZakZERO: 0] [Winner: Angel]

The ghost was blasted back by the pulses and knelt by the edge of the hospital as the Augmented Reality faded away. Angel rushed over to Zak and picked him up. After the defeat of Number Zero, he was beginning to regain his strength easily. He stood up and quickly pulled her into a hug. Angel shed a tear as she hugged him back.

'You did it,' Zak whispered in her ear.

Angel was too speechless to say anything. After about a minute of either refusing to let go, Zak and Angel released each other and headed toward the now defeated duel ghost. He was free of Number Zero's control now and smiled weakly as they approached.

'Thank you, both of you,' ZakZERO's voice sounded as Zak and Angel reached him, 'You need to get out of here now. The timestream is collapsing after the defeat of Number Zero. You must leave.'

'And what about you,' Zak asked, knelling down to face his duel ghost.

'I am already doomed, as are all duel ghosts. There is nothing that can be done.'

Zak nodded and stood up. He turned to Angel and handed her the Barrier Light from around his neck. She took it from him and looked at him in question.

'Get the portal ready, I'll be there in a second,' Zak explained.

Angel nodded and ran over to the portal on the side of the elevator. She was all too happy to leave the cold Heartland; especially now since it was degrading. She looked up and saw the bright red clouds had gone dull and were fading into ash. Everything else was beginning to fall apart and become ash too. It was not safe to stick around anymore, so Angel gestured for Zak to hurry up. Zak saw her and nodded before turning back to his duel ghost.

'Why didn't you tell us who you were?' Zak asked.

'Would you have listened to me if I did after your first encounter with the duel ghosts?' ZakZERO's voice replied.

'So what happens to this timestream?'

'It fades from existence, and Number Zero will be taken with it'

Zak nodded; it was a relief to hear that Number Zero was being destroyed in the process. But Zak still wasn't happy with his duel ghost being taken with it. The duel ghost had been on their side the entire time, even if it had randomly shown up and attacked them with duels every now and again. Zak sighed.

'Take this with you,' Sounded the duel ghost's voice again.

Zak looked up to see the duel ghost standing up and removing the machine that he had worn on his back the entire time. This machine is what gave the duel ghost the ability to fly and rush at such high speeds through both timestreams. Zak took it calmly and put it on immediately before trying to smile in thanks to his duel ghost.

'Something to remember me by,' The deep voice said, as ZakZERO's eyes returned to their usual glowing silver.

A smile formed on both Zak and his duel ghost's faces as they shook hands. It was now a true mutual respect and both were happy for that. The powerful duel ghost gave a small sigh as it faded from existence like so many duel ghosts before it. Zak sighed with a smile and turned to Angel. She grinned at him and beckoned him over. Zak began to walk calmly over to where she stood by the rippling portal.

'Beware the Chaos Xyz…' Came a shadow of the duel ghost's voice as Zak walked.

A giant crash stopped him as the earth shook. He looked about in confusion and his eyes settled on a true horror. Number Zero was now standing above him with its eyes glowing as red as ever. It hadn't been destroyed in the duel: it was real. And it was angry as demonstrated by the giant dark sword being held above its head. The giant sword came rushing down as Zak gasped and jumped out of the way. The blade narrowly missed him and cut straight through the middle of the hospital roof where Zak had just been standing. Zak quickly turned to Angel as Number Zero tried to free its sword from the half destroyed building.

'Go!' Zak shouted, 'Just go! I'll be right behind you!'

'No!' Angel shouted back, 'Not without you! I won't leave you!'

Zak felt the sword being released from the building and saw Number Zero getting ready to strike once again. By now the timestream was almost completely degraded; with most of the cold Heartland having disintegrated. Zak could just see that Number Zero was also disintegrating now. In a few more seconds, it'd be nothing but the same ash as the rest of the cold Heartland. But it was still going to get revenge on Zak and Angel for sealing it there. Zak began to sprint forward on the shaking rooftop as the giant blade began to strike down once again. Zak crashed into Angel in his rush and pushed her through the portal. She gave a shriek as she fell through, but Zak was happy that she was safe. Zak tried to follow her but, before he could, the giant sword crashed into the hospital once again.

Zak was knocked off balance and felt over only to get up and see the portal moving away from him. He then realised that the roof part he was lying on was falling away from the portal instead. Zak felt a loud rumble and heard a loud crash. He looked quickly to his left and saw Number Zero falling over and fading away. It was finally gone and the large sword it carried was nowhere to be seen. Zak knew this was no time to celebrate though and he quickly jumped to his feet. Zak ran as fast as he could and leapt off the edge of the falling hospital section, reaching for the portal.

On the other side, Angel had gotten up after being shoved through by Zak. She realised that he was still in danger though and rushed back to the portal. She held up the Barrier Light to the wall and waited for it to respond. Nothing happened. Angel banged the Barrier Light gem against the wall in frustration and then smashed on the wall with her fists, tears forming her eyes as she did.

'No,' Angel said in disbelief, 'NO!'

Angel pounded against the wall time and again and cried for her friend to return. But it was too late; the portal was gone.

And Zak was gone with it.

-END-


End file.
